JayWestern and Ukrainian exercises every year armed forces Together in the Black Sea. “Sea Breeze” is the name of the exercise that has been going on since 1997. But this year is very different than usual. There was massive tension between Russia and Great Britain last week after a British destroyer crossed the Crimean peninsula. The Russians came close enough to the battleship with twenty fighters, threatened to attack if the ship did not change course, and fired artillery nearby. A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry warned the British and Americans not to “challenge fate”. It refers to the new exercise that started on Monday and will essentially last for two weeks.
US commanders made it clear to reporters on Tuesday that they did not want to be intimidated. “We are showing the world that the Black Sea is an international sea. It is open to all nations for trade and shipping,” said Captain Kyle Gantt, who commands the guided missile destroyer USS Ross as it passes through the Bosphorus. The ship has since been under Russian Navy surveillance. The Russians had the right to do so, Gantt said, adding that they had the same right to be there as any other country. The turning point is: “The Black Sea does not belong to one nation.” It is the political message of the maneuver, combined with a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine.
The maritime area around Crimea is considered Ukrainian.
To strengthen this solidarity, this is the biggest exercise of the year so far. More than thirty countries participate in it. Together they make up 32 warships, forty military aircraft, and about 5,000 soldiers in total. Most of the force comes from Ukraine, which alone is providing 24 ships and conducting maneuvers with the United States. The British Royal Navy has sent a patrol ship. NATO participates with its Permanent Operations Unit for the Mediterranean, led by an Italian frigate. Landing, intercepting ships and aircraft, tracking submarines and clearing sea mines are practiced. By the end of July, US special forces will also salvage a Soviet-era wreck that sank in the port of Odessa, blocking a jetty there.
As Captain Gant said, the maneuver takes place off the coast of Odessa “especially in international and Ukrainian waters”. Of course, Western states also consider the maritime area around Crimea to be Ukrainian, as NATO emphasized in a communication: “NATO does not recognize the illegal and illegitimate occupation of Crimea by Russia and will not do so in the future.” The participants of the week maneuvers will maintain a reasonable distance from the occupied peninsula. They expect Russians to be “confident and professional”.
