Critical Observer

US TRAINS IN BLACK SEA WITH UKRAINE’S DEPLETED NAVY

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The United States is co-hosting drills in the Black Sea with what is left of Ukraine's devastated navy, which lost about two thirds of its sailors and ships after Russia seized Crimea last year.<br />
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The maritime operation, dubbed Sea Breeze, began Tuesday and is an annual exercise that this year includes contingents from 11 countries practicing air defense, search-and-rescue procedures and a variety of other tactical maneuvers aimed at boosting regional security.<br />
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Ukraine's naval force was eviscerated when Russia seized the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea in March 2014. Moscow snatched much of the fleet moored in strategic ports, and convinced thousands of sailors to jump ship.<br />
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US Vice Admiral James Foggo III, who helped launch the international training mission, said on Wednesday that the Ukrainian navy dropped from about 17,000 to 5,000 sailors.<br />
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"They essentially lost about two-thirds of their people and about two-thirds of their ships," said Foggo, who had spent time in Odessa, which is the Ukraine fleet's new home after losing the Crimean port of Sevastopol.<br />
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"What they lost was capacity, they lost numbers," he told reporters. "But what they maintained was the professionalism of those who decided (to stay) with Ukraine."<br />
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Russian ships are asserting their presence in the Black Sea as the training exercise takes place, Foggo noted, but he said interactions between navies had so far not been tense.<br />
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The USS Donald Cook, a guided-missile destroyer, is participating in the exercises along with the Ukrainian frigate Getman Sagaidachniy, the flagship of Ukraine's navy that was only spared Russian capture by chance.<br />
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When Russian special forces soldiers without insignia started seizing strategic locations around Crimea, the frigate was on its way back home from a training mission in the Gulf of Aden.<br />
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Foggo met with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and said authorities there are keen to modernize the navy.<br />
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"Perhaps bringing in some new warships as their budget will support," Foggo said. "Obviously they have to work through a number of issues."<br />
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Violence continues to simmer in eastern Ukraine, undermining ceasefire efforts.<br />
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Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of backing pro-Russia rebels with weapons and troops, a claim the Kremlin denies.<br />
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Other nations involved in the Sea Breeze exercise include Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, and Britain.<br />
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from AFP

US TRAINS IN BLACK SEA WITH UKRAINE’S DEPLETED NAVY

The United States is co-hosting drills in the Black Sea with what is left of Ukraine's devastated navy, which lost about two thirds o...

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Russia, China kick off active phase of Sea of Japan naval drills

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Twenty-two vessels, 20 aircraft, 40 armored vehicles and 500 marines from Russia and China have begun the active phase of the 'Joint Sea 2015 II' drills in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Russian Far Eastern city of Vladivostok.</div>
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“During the active phase of the maritime maneuvers to last till August 27, the sailors work out the issues of join anti-sabotage, anti-submarine, anti-vessel and anti-aircraft defense. Besides that there’ll be gunnery drills with different types of surface, underwater and aerial targets,” Roman Martov, Russia’s Eastern Military District spokesman, said as cited by TASS.</div>
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The drills will be held in Peter the Great Bay, with vessels performing their tasks in Russian territorial waters and in neutral waters off the Sea of Japan.</div>
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The war games will culminate in a joint amphibious and airborne landing by Russian and Chinese troops at the Klerk firing range in the Far East, Martov added.</div>
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“It’s first time ever such an operation is to be held on the Russian soil,” he stressed.</div>
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According to the spokesman, the exercise will conclude on August 28 with a farewell parade of the participating warships from Russian Pacific Fleet and the Navy of the People’s Liberation Army of China.</div>
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However, he stressed that there may be changes to the schedule of the drills due to typhoon Goin, which already killed 10 people in the Philippines, and is expected to arrive in the Russia’s Far East in the middle of the next week.</div>
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The Sea of Japan borders four countries – Japan, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, with Russian and Chinese commanders of the exercises saying that the maneuvers are not directed against any other state.</div>
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This is the first time that China is participating in war games in the Sea Japan, with relations between Beijing and Tokyo being tense due to Chinese land reclamations in the South China Sea and the construction of oil and gas installations in the East China Sea.</div>
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Chinese Navy's Deputy Commander-in-Chief Rear Admiral, Wang Hai, has previouslt stated that Russia and Chinese forces should be prepared to counter emerging threats.</div>
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"We need to understand very well that peaceful sea is a guarantee of economic development of our countries and guarantee of peace in the whole world," he stressed.</div>
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The first stage of the Joint Sea 2015 exercises took place in the Mediterranean on May 11-21 this year.</div>
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The drills “showed that Russian and Chinese seamen can effectively fulfill tasks in such a difficult region as the Mediterranean Sea,” Vice Admiral Aleksandr Fedotenkov, Russian Navy's Deputy Commander-in-Chief, said.</div>
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The Joint Sea naval exercises have been held since 2012, with the last year’s event having taken place in Chinese </div>
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From RT - August 23, 2015</div>

Russia, China kick off active phase of Sea of Japan naval drills

Twenty-two vessels, 20 aircraft, 40 armored vehicles and 500 marines from Russia and China have begun the active phase of the 'Join...

Read Article »