Odessa, September 08 (PolitNavigator, Artemy Glazunov) – Today the naval exercises of Ukraine and NATO “Sea Breeze-2014” began in the Black Sea.
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The event is taking place far from Odessa, and foreign warships are not planning to enter the city.
This year they are taking place in accordance with the program of bilateral cooperation between the Ministries of Defense of Ukraine and the United States, as well as the plan for 2014, approved by decree of the President of Ukraine dated March 25 of this year.
The “grand” opening took place on board the American guided-missile destroyer USS Ross, which left Constanta, Romania, yesterday.
The stated purpose of the exercise is to practice an international operation “to establish and ensure a navigation safety zone in a crisis area.” The maneuvers will take place for 3 days – from September 8 to 10. In addition to Ukraine and the United States, Canada, Romania (NATO Standing Maritime Group XNUMX - frigates Toronto, Almirante Juan de Borbón and King Ferdinand) and Turkey will take part in them.
In total, 12 ships and support vessels will take part in the exercises, including 5 ships and vessels from the Ukrainian Navy and 2 ships from the State Border Service of Ukraine. In addition, planes and helicopters of the naval aviation of the Ukrainian Navy will be involved in the events.
Let us remind you that these exercises have been held for the 12th year in a row. They were held for the first time in 1997. In Odessa, they are accompanied by constant protests by opponents of NATO’s presence in Ukraine, who rightly see in them an action directed against independence and statehood. In 2007, an attempt to hold Sea Breeze in Crimea caused mass protests. And regional councils, including Odessa and Kherson, have repeatedly declared their regions “territory without NATO,” but this did not lead to the cancellation of the exercises.