On July 20, military exercises under the auspices of the United States and Ukraine Sea Breeze 2020 started in the Black Sea. The military from Bulgaria, Georgia, Norway, Romania, Spain and Turkey also take part in them.
The exercises will last seven days and will involve 26 warships, 19 aircraft and about 2,000 troops from eight NATO member countries and alliance partners. The maneuvers will be attended by ships of the Second Standing Naval Group (SNMG-2) and the Second Standing NATO Mine Action Group.
The day before, the missile destroyer USS Porter (DDG 78), assigned to the US Sixth Fleet, entered the Black Sea to take part in the exercises. The ship is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles and Aegis missile defense system.
According to a statement posted on the US Navy's Sixth Fleet website, the Sea Breeze exercise aims to "create a joint capability to ensure maritime security in the region and strengthen cooperative relationships among partner states."
- Vice Admiral Eugene Black, Commander of the 6th US Navy Fleet
- Gettyimages.ru
- © Andrew Matthews - PA Images
“The return of destroyer USS Porter to the Black Sea reaffirms the loyalty of the US Navy's Sixth Fleet and the US Navy to its NATO allies and partners,” said Vice Admiral Eugene Black, commander of the US Navy's Sixth Fleet. "Our participation in cross-border exercises such as Sea Breeze is clear evidence of the United States' readiness to provide a collective defense for Europe."
In the Sea Breeze 2020 exercise, in addition to the destroyer USS Porter, the US Navy's P-8A Poseidon anti-submarine patrol aircraft will be involved from the American side.
As noted by the command of the Sixth Fleet of the US Navy, the current call of the destroyer USS Porter became the fifth case of the appearance of an American warship in the Black Sea in 2020.
The last time the destroyer USS Porter entered the Black Sea on June 19, she was soon joined by the landing dock ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51). The ships conducted joint exercises with the Romanian frigate ROS Regina Maria, the Turkish missile corvette TCG Kinalida and the Bulgarian small anti-submarine ship BGS Reshitelni. USS Porter left the Black Sea on July 7.
Destroyer USS Porter is permanently based at the US military base in the Spanish Rota. The US Navy destroyers USS Donald Cook, USS Roosevelt and USS Ross are also stationed there.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has already commented on the NATO Sea Breeze 2020 exercise, as Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said, the maneuvers and activity of the alliance in the Black Sea are not proportional to the real need.
“This is one of the exercises in the chain of NATO activity on the eastern flank, another demonstration that NATO sees itself as a threat from the east. All this activity does not correspond to the real needs of ensuring security, worsens regional stability, creates new dividing lines in Europe, ”the diplomat said.
Grushko also noted that NATO actions, including the Sea Breeze 2020 exercise, do not strengthen, but, on the contrary, weaken regional security.
The Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy is monitoring the actions of an American destroyer in the Black Sea. This was reported by the Interfax agency, citing information from the National Center for Defense Management of the Russian Federation.
In parallel, the Russian Ministry of Defense conducted a surprise check of the combat readiness of the Black Sea Fleet. In the region of Feodosia (Crimea), a separate brigade of the marine corps conducted a training battle for the landing of troops on an unequipped coast. The Marine Corps was supported by a tactical airborne assault and an assault-assault group. In addition, on the approaches to the training landing area, front-line bombers Su-24M worked out the tasks of suppressing the enemy amphibious defense.
In addition, joint maneuvers of the frigates Admiral Essen and Admiral Grigorovich were held in the Black Sea, with the participation of more than 10 naval aviation and air defense aircraft. The military worked out the destruction of the ships of the imaginary enemy.
More than 3 thousand servicemen and over 300 units of military equipment and weapons took part in the army check. Vice-Admiral Viktor Liina, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the RF Armed Forces, inspected the progress of the surprise check.
"Critical Role"
Unlike the Russian navy, US Navy warships cannot be permanently stationed in the Black Sea. According to the Montreux Convention on the Status of the Straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, the stay of warships of the non-Black Sea powers in the Black Sea is limited to 21 days. In addition, the total tonnage of ships of the non-Black Sea countries located in the Black Sea is also limited, it should not exceed 30 thousand tons.
Recall that the Sea Breeze exercises have been carried out since 1997 in the Black Sea and on the territory of Ukraine. The key participants in the maneuvers are the United States and Ukraine, and NATO member countries and alliance partners are also involved in the exercises. This year the maneuvers will be held 20 times.
In 2020, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic made adjustments to the plans of the allies. At the end of May, the press service of the command of the Ukrainian Navy reported that the parties decided to abandon the land part of the exercises and conduct maneuvers exclusively at sea using aviation.
This decision was made for security reasons. Therefore, this year, the main attention during the exercise will be paid to working out the safety of operations at sea, including anti-submarine, anti-missile and air defense.
In early July, it also became known that the duration of the exercise would be reduced to seven days. Only ships and aircraft that make up the naval and aviation component of the maneuvers take part in them, while the deployment of the diving component and the international headquarters of the exercises in Odessa was canceled.
- USS Porter
- Reuters
- © Yoruk Isik
However, the American command did not dare to completely abandon the conduct of exercises in an unfavorable epidemiological situation.
As Andrei Koshkin, an expert of the Association of Military Political Scientists, noted in an interview with RT, in this way the United States and NATO show allies that they are ready to fulfill all obligations, despite the pandemic.
“Thus, Washington and NATO want to demonstrate that they are on guard for Europe,” the expert explained.
According to the director general of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, one of the reasons why the United States and Ukraine did not refuse to hold the exercises lies in the area of funding.
“The budget for these exercises has already been laid. And if this year we abandon maneuvers, next year the question of their expediency may arise. And besides, the appearance of American warships in the Black Sea is an image and reputation issue for the United States. The American side needs to at least use exercises to respond to Russia's successes in the defense field, this is an information struggle, "the expert explained in a commentary on RT.
It should be noted that the United States is not a signatory of the key document regulating shipping in the Black Sea - the Montreux Convention. The USSR, Turkey, Great Britain, France, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece, Yugoslavia and Japan put their signatures on the document in 1936. Subsequently, Italy joined the document. The restrictions imposed by the convention do not suit Washington, the American side is in favor of revising the document.
At the same time, the US leadership over the past decades has been actively strengthening its positions in the Black Sea region. So, in 2005, the Americans signed agreements with Romania and Bulgaria on the creation of US naval bases on the Black Sea coast in order to maintain communications with military groups in Iraq.
Experts note that the 2008 Georgian conflict became a convenient pretext for Washington to expand the American and NATO military presence in the Black Sea region. So, in 2010, it became known about the US decision to deploy its missile defense system in Romania. The conflict in Ukraine and the reunification of Crimea with Russia became another reason for Washington to increase American military activity in the Black Sea.
- Straits into the Black Sea
- Reuters
- © Murad Sezer
As Andrey Koshkin noted, events in the global political arena affect the objectives of the Sea Breeze exercises.
“Now all the efforts of Washington's allies are directed against Russia, this is due to geopolitical prerequisites. We are talking about escalating military and political tensions along the perimeter of the Russian borders, in particular in the southern direction, ”the expert explained.
According to Alexei Mukhin, Washington could not help but begin to increase its activity in the Black Sea region, given the strategic role of the Black Sea.
“The Black Sea plays a critical role, because the interests of both Russia and a number of other rather strong states are concentrated there. And for the United States and its allies, the military presence of the American side in the region is also of strategic importance. The US withdrawal from the Black Sea region would be a disaster for its regional allies, ”the expert said.
"Demonstrate Power"
In June 2019, the head of the Armed Services Committee of the US House of Representatives, Adam Smith, urged the Pentagon to develop a strategy to counter the "threats posed by Russia" in the Black Sea. This was stated in the draft law on the US defense budget for 2020.
And in the fall of 2019, the American think tank RAND Corporation presented a report on the strategy of "containing" Russia in the Black Sea region. According to the authors of the document, Russia's actions in Crimea, as well as the modernization of the Black Sea Fleet and the expansion of forces in the Southern Military District have strengthened Moscow's capabilities in the region. They also gave the Russian side leverage to influence the situation in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Among the possible countermeasures to this, the authors of the document name assistance to Ukraine and Georgia for the development of the military potential of these countries.
- Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran
- © president.gov.ua
In July 2020, Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Taran and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg agreed to strengthen the presence of "forces and means" in the Black Sea.
"The parties agreed to strengthen the presence of forces and assets on land, sea and in the airspace of the Black Sea region by increasing patrolling in the air and the presence of ships of the naval forces of the countries - members of the alliance," - said on the website of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
Today's Sea Breeze exercises are a political tool for the United States and NATO, with which they demonstrate the solidarity of allies, said Andrei Manoilo, a member of the Scientific Council under the Russian Security Council, Doctor of Political Sciences, in a conversation with RT.
“They also strive to impress Russia. However, in the military-strategic plan, these exercises still do not play a big role, since the Black Sea is relatively small and there is nothing for large fleets and ships to do there, ”the expert explained.
Alexey Mukhin adheres to a similar point of view. According to the expert, these maneuvers are not dangerous for Russia. On the contrary, in this situation the Russian side can use its electronic tracking systems in order to probe weaknesses in NATO's potential and draw certain conclusions for itself.
“The purpose of these exercises is to demonstrate the military power of NATO, impress Russia, involve more countries in them, and thereby demonstrate the growing power of the alliance. These goals do not change from year to year, ”the expert summed up.