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Exercise Sea Breaze in the Black Sea. Objective: reassure Ukraine

On board the USS Ross - credit: US Navy
On board the USS Ross - credit: US Navy

(BRUSSELS2) Several NATO ships are taking part in the Sea Breaze 2014 naval exercise which began on 8 September in the Black Sea and will run until 10 September. Most of the ships of the Permanent Maritime Group (SNMG 2) will participate, with one exception, it seems. The French sloop Cdt Birot (F-796), which has also been in the Black Sea since the beginning of September, will be there only as an “observer apparently.

Twelve ships and support boats will take part in the exercise — including 7 Ukrainians (5 from the Naval Forces of Ukraine and 2 from the Border Police) the American ship USS Ross, as well as the Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto ((FFH 333), the Spanish frigate Almirante Juan De Borbon, the Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand, Georgian, Turkish and Latvian forces. "It's a way to increase our stability and build relationships with participating nations said Vice Admiral Serhiy Hayduk, head of the Ukrainian Navy.

The stated objective of the exercise: "to strengthen NATO's solidarity and responsiveness in the region", "to work on interoperability" between the various forces present and beyond the exercises to send a message to neighboring Russia. Moreover, the theme of the exercise is based on a " maritime interdiction operation as the primary means of ensuring maritime security ».

We don't really know if this will intimidate the Russian fleet in Sevastopol (in the Black Sea) but it should reassure the Ukrainians. Reinsurance remains the real and less visible objective of Sea Breaze 2014

(NGV)

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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