# Russia and Europe for UPSC: Ukraine, Black Sea, NATO, EU, Caucasus, Central Asia, the Arctic and India's Ties Source: https://tracknation.in/story/russia-and-europe-for-upsc-ukraine-black-sea-nato-eu-caucasus-central-asia-the-arctic-and-india-s-ties (TrackNation — free UPSC notes with PYQs) > Russia, Ukraine and Europe for UPSC: lists of Ukraine's neighbours and the Black Sea, Caspian, North Sea and Baltic coasts, Montreux and the Polar Code, conflict zones (Donbas, Nagorno-Karabakh), NATO, EU, OTS and Arctic Council memberships, and India's 2025-26 ties (Russia trade USD 68.7 billion, India-EU FTA, EFTA TEPA). Includes practice questions, the real PYQs and exact Mains questions. ## How UPSC Tests Russia and Europe 🎯 **Exam priority: Tier-1 for borders and seas, Tier-2 for the war itself.** *UPSC asked: Ukraine's land neighbours (2023); countries with a North Sea border (2024); Afghanistan's Central Asian neighbours (2022); the Organization of Turkic States (2022); the Polar Code (2022); NATO membership (2025); the Anadyr-Nome date line (2025); the EU's Net-Zero Industry Act (2024); the Stability and Growth Pact (2023); the EU's membership (2026, provisional); and the 'which region, which dispute' pair on Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Nagorno-Karabakh (2023).* Almost every question is about **who borders whom**, **who belongs to which club**, or **what a named agreement does**. The note has three boxes: **the map** (seas, borders, conflicts), **the clubs** (NATO, EU, OTS, Arctic Council) and **India's ties**. ## The Map: Borders, Seas and Straits Learn the neighbours of Ukraine, then the four seas. They produced most of the questions. ## Lists UPSC has used | **Question type** | **The answer** | **Trap** | | Land neighbours of Ukraine (7) | Belarus, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova | Bulgaria, Czechia, Latvia, Lithuania do not touch Ukraine (2023: only Hungary and Romania) | | Black Sea coast (6) | Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Türkiye | Croatia is on the Adriatic; Armenia and Azerbaijan are landlocked from it | | Caspian Sea coast (5) | Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan | Uzbekistan and Armenia are not on the Caspian; the 2018 Aktau Convention set its legal regime | | North Sea coast | UK, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France | Finland and Russia have no North Sea coast (2024: two of four) | | Baltic Sea coast (9) | Denmark, Germany, Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden | Norway is not a Baltic state | | Afghanistan's neighbours (6) | Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, China | Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan do not touch Afghanistan (2022) | | Central Asia (5) | Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan | Afghanistan is not counted in the C5 | ## Straits and conventions - The **Bosporus and the Dardanelles** (both in Türkiye) link the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the Sea of Marmara. The **Montreux Convention (1936)** gives Türkiye control over them and limits warships' passage in war and peace. - The **Polar Code** is the International Maritime Organization's mandatory code for ships in polar waters (2022 PYQ). It is a safety and environment code, not a territorial agreement. - **The date line:** Anadyr (Russia) and Nome (Alaska) sit on either side of the Bering Strait and the International Date Line, so the Russian side is a day ahead (2025 PYQ). ## Conflict Zones and India's Position on Ukraine and Russia These are the conflicts that appear in 'which region, which country' questions, with the facts that UPSC cares about. ## Conflict zones in the map | **Zone** | **Where** | **What happened** | **Status in October 2026 (secondary sources)** | | Crimea and Donbas | Ukraine: Crimea (annexed by Russia in 2014); Donbas = Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts | Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022; Russia claimed to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in September 2022, which the UN General Assembly did not recognise | No general ceasefire; a local truce at Oleshky and technical talks planned for November; Russia demands all of Donbas | | Kherson and Zaporizhzhia | Southern Ukraine on the Dnipro and the Sea of Azov; the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is the largest in Europe | Occupied front-line oblasts (2023 pair question) | As above | | Nagorno-Karabakh | Azerbaijan, mostly Armenian-populated until Azerbaijan's operation of September 2023 | Armenia-Azerbaijan wars of 1988-94 and 2020, and 2023 | On 8 August 2025 at the White House the two leaders signed a joint declaration and their foreign ministers initialled a draft peace treaty; a transit route through southern Armenia was named the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP). The treaty is not yet signed | | Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia | Moldova and Georgia | Russia-backed breakaway regions | Frozen | ## India's position on Ukraine - India has abstained on most UN votes on the war, calls for dialogue and diplomacy, and stresses sovereignty and territorial integrity. PM Modi visited Kyiv in August 2024; in 2025 President Zelenskyy and the PM spoke in August, a visa waiver protocol was signed in March and Ukraine opened a consulate in Mumbai (MEA Annual Report 2025). - **India and Russia:** 2025 was the 25th anniversary of the Strategic Partnership. President Putin made a state visit for the 23rd Annual Summit on 4-5 December 2025; bilateral trade was **USD 68.7 billion in 2024-25** (India's exports USD 4.9 billion and imports USD 63.8 billion, mostly energy). Defence ties included the commissioning of INS Tamal in Kaliningrad (July 2025), the INDRA naval exercise and Indian participation in Zapad 2025. ## The Clubs: NATO, the EU, OTS and the Arctic Council Memberships are the cheapest marks in this chapter. ## NATO, the EU and the other clubs | **Club** | **Members and facts** | **Likely trap** | | NATO (1949, HQ Brussels) | 32 members: 12 founders including the US, UK, France, Canada; Finland joined in April 2023 and Sweden in March 2024 | Austria, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta are in the EU but not in NATO; Serbia and Ukraine are not members; Türkiye is | | European Union | 27 members (UK left in 2020). Candidate states include Ukraine and Moldova (candidates since 2022); EU members include Poland and Germany; Belarus and Switzerland are not members | Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and the UK are outside the EU. EFTA = Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein | | Organization of Turkic States (2021, formerly the Turkic Council) | Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, Uzbekistan | Armenia is not a member (2022 PYQ) | | Arctic Council (1996) | Eight members: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden, USA; India has been an observer since 2013 | Estonia and Poland are not Arctic Council members | | Council of Europe, OSCE | Wider European bodies that include Russia's neighbours | Not the same as the EU | ## What the EU does that UPSC has asked - The **Stability and Growth Pact** caps budget deficits (3 per cent of GDP) and public debt (60 per cent); it is a fiscal rule, not a pact on sharing infrastructure or technology (2023). - The EU's **Net-Zero Industry Act** (approved in 2024) aims to build a large share of the EU's own clean technology; the EU's climate-neutrality target is 2050, not 2040 (2024). - The EU's **Nature Restoration Law** (2024) and **CBAM** (a carbon border levy) are the climate laws most likely to come back. ## India's Ties: EU, EFTA, UK, Nordics and Central Asia India's links with Europe and Eurasia grew faster in 2025 than in any recent year. ## India and Europe, from the MEA Annual Report 2025 and the 2026 follow-up - **EU:** the EU is India's largest trading partner in goods, with bilateral trade above **USD 135 billion**. The first-ever visit of the EU College of Commissioners to India (February 2025, led by Ursula von der Leyen) agreed to push the FTA. The FTA was announced as **concluded on 27 January 2026** at the 16th India-EU Summit in New Delhi; legal scrubbing, cabinet approval and ratification by the European Parliament follow (secondary sources). - **EFTA:** the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) with Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, signed in March 2024, **entered into force on 1 October 2025**, with a commitment of **USD 100 billion of investment and one million jobs over 15 years**. - **UK:** the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was signed in London in July 2025. **France:** the government-to-government agreement for 26 Rafale-M aircraft for the Navy (April 2025). - **Nordics and the Arctic:** India's Arctic policy (2022) and its Himadri station at Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard; the Arctic Circle India Forum was held in New Delhi on 4-5 May 2025; India-Nordic Dialogue (Reykjavik, September). ## Central Asia and the Caucasus - India hosted the **fourth India-Central Asia Dialogue** in New Delhi on 5-6 June 2025 with the foreign ministers of all five Central Asian republics. India's connectivity offer is Chabahar and the INSTC; it joined the Ashgabat Agreement on multimodal transit in 2018. - India has about 10,000 medical students in Uzbekistan, a Defence Wing opened in Yerevan (January 2025), and the SCO is the main multilateral platform for the region (Article 7). ## How UPSC Could Ask This Next Here are the questions this chapter is most likely to produce next. ## How UPSC could ask this next - **Border-count questions:** 'how many of these countries border Ukraine / the Caspian / Afghanistan / the Baltic'. Learn the lists in the first table. - **Club membership:** 'how many of these are NATO / EU / OTS members' with a neutral country (Austria, Ireland, Switzerland) and a candidate (Ukraine, Georgia) as traps. - **The new corridors:** TRIPP, the INSTC, the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor, the Northern Sea Route (Russia's Arctic route) and the Bering Strait. - **Economic treaties:** India-EU FTA, India-EFTA TEPA, India-UK CETA, and the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) that the EU applies fully from 2026. - **Mains:** India's strategic autonomy on Ukraine, India-Russia energy and defence trade, NATO's expansion and India (2023 Mains), Central Asia (2018, 2024), and the West fostering India as an alternative to China (2024). ## Further Reading - the Ministry of External Affairs Annual Report, MEA and PIB press releases and joint statements, United Nations and treaty-body websites, and an atlas — the primary sources behind every fact above. ## Test Yourself: Practice Questions and PYQs Twelve practice questions on borders, seas, memberships and India's European ties, followed by the real UPSC Prelims questions and exact Mains questions. ## Practice Questions **Q1.** How many countries share a land border with Ukraine? - (a) Eleven - (b) Seven - (c) Nine - (d) Five **Answer: (b)** — Belarus, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. **Q2.** Consider the following countries: 1. Bulgaria 2. Georgia 3. Armenia 4. Romania How many of the above have a coastline on the Black Sea? - (a) All four - (b) Only three - (c) Only one - (d) Only two **Answer: (b)** — Bulgaria, Georgia and Romania do. Armenia is landlocked. **Q3.** The Montreux Convention (1936) regulates passage through - (a) the Strait of Hormuz - (b) the Turkish Straits (Bosporus and Dardanelles) - (c) the Danish Straits - (d) the Suez Canal **Answer: (b)** — It gives Türkiye control of the straits joining the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. **Q4.** Which one of the following does NOT have a coastline on the Caspian Sea? - (a) Uzbekistan - (b) Turkmenistan - (c) Kazakhstan - (d) Azerbaijan **Answer: (a)** — The five Caspian states are Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran and Azerbaijan. **Q5.** Consider the following statements about the Arctic Council: 1. It has eight member states. 2. India has been an observer since 2013. 3. Poland is a member. Which of the statements given above are correct? - (a) 2 and 3 only - (b) 1 and 3 only - (c) 1 and 2 only - (d) 1, 2 and 3 **Answer: (c)** — The members are Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the USA. Poland is not a member. **Q6.** Which two countries joined NATO in 2023 and 2024 respectively? - (a) Ukraine and Georgia - (b) Finland and Sweden - (c) Sweden and Finland - (d) Austria and Ireland **Answer: (b)** — Finland joined in April 2023 and Sweden in March 2024, taking NATO to 32 members. **Q7.** Which of the following is a member of the European Union but not of NATO? - (a) Türkiye - (b) Norway - (c) Ireland - (d) Poland **Answer: (c)** — Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta are EU members outside NATO. Norway and Türkiye are in NATO but not in the EU. **Q8.** The 'Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity' (TRIPP), announced in August 2025, concerns - (a) a transit route through southern Armenia linking Azerbaijan with its Nakhchivan exclave - (b) a road from Georgia to Türkiye - (c) a pipeline from Russia to Türkiye - (d) a sea route through the Arctic **Answer: (a)** — It was announced at the White House meeting of Armenia and Azerbaijan on 8 August 2025 and replaces the 'Zangezur corridor' name. **Q9.** Consider the following countries: 1. Armenia 2. Azerbaijan 3. Kazakhstan 4. Türkiye Which of the above are members of the Organization of Turkic States? - (a) 1, 2, 3 and 4 - (b) 2, 3 and 4 only - (c) 1, 3 and 4 only - (d) 1 and 2 only **Answer: (b)** — OTS members are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan. Armenia is not. **Q10.** The India-EU free trade agreement was announced as concluded at the 16th India-EU Summit held in New Delhi in - (a) January 2026 - (b) October 2025 - (c) March 2024 - (d) February 2025 **Answer: (a)** — The announcement was on 27 January 2026; legal scrubbing and ratification follow (secondary sources). **Q11.** The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA) entered into force on 1 October 2025. Which of the following is NOT an EFTA member? - (a) Iceland - (b) Liechtenstein - (c) Switzerland - (d) Sweden **Answer: (d)** — EFTA = Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Sweden is an EU member. TEPA commits USD 100 billion of investment and one million jobs over 15 years. **Q12.** Which of the following is NOT one of the five Central Asian republics? - (a) Turkmenistan - (b) Afghanistan - (c) Tajikistan - (d) Kyrgyzstan **Answer: (b)** — The C5 are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. ### UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs) *Real UPSC Prelims questions, checked against the official paper and answer key.* **Q1.** (2023) Consider the following countries: 1. Bulgaria 2. Czech Republic 3. Hungary 4. Latvia 5. Lithuania 6. Romania How many of the above-mentioned countries share a land border with Ukraine? - (a) Only two - (b) Only four - (c) Only three - (d) Only five **Answer: (a)** — Ukraine borders Belarus, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova. Of the six listed, only Hungary and Romania share a land border with it. **Q2.** (2022) Which one of the following statements best describes the 'Polar Code'? - (a) It is a set of norms to be followed by the countries whose scientists undertake research studies in the North Pole and South Pole. - (b) It is the international code of safety for ships operating in polar waters. - (c) It is a trade and security agreement of the member countries of the Arctic Council. - (d) It is the agreement of the countries around the North Pole regarding the demarcation of their territories in the polar region. **Answer: (b)** — The Polar Code is the International Maritime Organization's mandatory code for the safety of ships and the protection of the environment in polar waters; it is not a territorial or trade treaty. **Q3.** (2024) Consider the following countries: 1. Finland 2. Germany 3. Norway 4. Russia How many of the above countries have a border with the North Sea? - (a) Only one - (b) Only three - (c) All four - (d) Only two **Answer: (d)** — Germany and Norway have a North Sea coastline; Finland and Russia do not. **Q4.** (2022) Consider the following countries: 1. Azerbaijan 2. Kyrgyzstan 3. Tajikistan 4. Turkmenistan 5. Uzbekistan Which of the above have borders with Afghanistan? - (a) 1, 2 and 5 only - (b) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 - (c) 1, 2, 3 and 4 only - (d) 3, 4 and 5 only **Answer: (d)** — Afghanistan borders Pakistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and China. Of the five listed only Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan touch it; Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan do not. **Q5.** (2023) Consider the following pairs: Regions often mentioned in news : Reason for being in news 1. North Kivu and Ituri : War between Armenia and Azerbaijan 2. Nagorno-Karabakh : Insurgency in Mozambique 3. Kherson and Zaporizhzhia : Dispute between Israel and Lebanon How many of the above pairs are correctly matched? - (a) Only one - (b) Only two - (c) None - (d) All three **Answer: (c)** — North Kivu and Ituri are DRC provinces hit by armed groups; Nagorno-Karabakh was the Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute; Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are in Russia-Ukraine war zone. Each listed reason is wrong. **Q6.** (2024) Consider the following statements: Statement-I: The European Parliament approved The Net-Zero Industry Act recently. Statement-II: The European Union intends to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and therefore aims to develop all of its own clean technology by that time. Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements? - (a) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct, but Statement-II does not explain Statement-I - (b) Statement-I is correct, but Statement-II is incorrect - (c) Both Statement-I and Statement-II are correct and Statement-II explains Statement-I - (d) Statement-I is incorrect, but Statement-II is correct **Answer: (b)** — The European Parliament approved the Net-Zero Industry Act in April 2024 (Statement-I true), but the EU's climate-neutrality target is 2050, not 2040, and the Act's aim is to produce a large share (not all) of its clean technology at home, so Statement-II is wrong. **Q7.** (2025) Consider the following statements: I. Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska are a few kilometers from each other, but when people are waking up and getting set for breakfast in these cities, it would be different days. II. When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? - (a) I only - (b) Neither I nor II - (c) II only - (d) Both I and II **Answer: (a)** — Anadyr (Russia) and Nome (Alaska) face each other across the Bering Strait near the International Date Line, so their calendar days differ. Anadyr is ahead, so when it is Tuesday there it is Monday in Nome: Statement-II reverses this. ### Mains Practice Questions Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover. - "The expansion and strengthening of NATO and a stronger US-Europe strategic partnership works well for India." What is your opinion about this statement? - Critically analyse India's evolving diplomatic, economic and strategic relations with the Central Asian Republics. - Discuss India's balancing between Russia and the West on Ukraine, and the implications of a prolonged war for India's energy and defence supplies. - What do the India-EU FTA and the India-EFTA TEPA mean for India's trade diversification? ### UPSC Mains — Previous Years’ Questions on this topic (last 10 years) These are the **actual GS Mains questions** UPSC has asked on this theme — real proof of how, and when, it is tested. Try to write a full answer to each. - 2024 (GS-II): Critically analyse India's evolving diplomatic, economic and strategic relations with the Central Asian Republics (CARs) highlighting their increasing significance in regional and global geopolitics. - 2023 (GS-II): 'The expansion and strengthening of NATO and a stronger US-Europe strategic partnership works well for India.' What is your opinion about this statement? Give reasons and examples to support your answer. - 2018 (GS-II): A number of outside powers have entrenched themselves in Central Asia, which is a zone of interest to India. Discuss the implications, in this context, of India's joining the Ashgabat Agreement, 2018.