This project is examining Russia’s intentions in the Black Sea, its tools and instruments of influence, and what future actions it is likely to take there during and after the war with Ukraine. We are viewing these issues through three analytic lenses: how Russia engages with individual littoral states to advance its interests; how Russia exploits or is affected by the Black Sea’s role as a conduit of critical flows of food, energy, goods, services and people; and how the Black Sea relates to Russian interests in adjoining regions – the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.