Russia has performed a sequence of air protection and anti-ship navy drills within the Black Sea amid protests towards the passage of two U.S. warships by way of a physique of water on the middle of tensions between the 2 nations.
The Russian Armed Forces’ Southern Military District introduced Tuesday that crews working Bal and Bastion coastal anti-ship techniques performed simulated launches as a part of “an exercise to destroy a mock enemy surface ship in the Black Sea.”
The maneuvers have been performed from camouflaged positions on Crimea, a area annexed by Russia after an internationally disputed referendum held amid a political rebellion in Ukraine in 2014. The peninsula has additionally lengthy hosted the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which additionally held a coaching session on Tuesday.
The fleet’s air defenses have been activated and “put on alert” to guard Russian warships from a “massive” missile strike and air raid of a simulated enemy, together with mock foe drones.
The strikes got here only a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked on the U.S. navy presence within the Black Sea throughout a gathering with protection business leaders.
Discussing a “need to further improve aerospace defense,” the Russian chief warned of “leading countries developing innovative strike weapons with advanced speed parameters” in addition to “the increasing numbers of NATO flights close to Russia, and NATO ships with guided missiles appearing in the Baltic and Black Seas.”
“Just recently, as you know, a U.S. ship entered the Black Sea – it could be seen through binoculars or through the sight of our defense systems,” Putin stated. “U.S. plans to deploy medium-range missiles in Europe are also well known, and that also poses a great danger and threat to us.”
Russian Ministry of Defense
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Porter entered the Black Sea on Saturday on what the U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet described as “a routine patrol” alongside U.S. Air Force F-15E fighter jets and different plane reminiscent of U.S. Navy P-8A anti-submarine spy planes.
“The crew of USS Porter looks forward to entering the Black Sea to maintain safety and stability throughout the region,” USS Porter Commander Christopher Petro stated in a press launch on the time. “Our ability to work alongside our NATO allies and partners enhances our collective readiness and overall maritime security.”
The USS Porter had earlier joined the USS Arleigh Burke for joint workouts with frigates operated by NATO allies Canada, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, in keeping with a separate Sixth Fleet report revealed Monday.
Also on Monday, the Sixth Fleet flagship Blue Ridge-class amphibious command ship USS Mount Whitney had arrived in Istanbul, Turkey, for a port go to. The vessel was then set to hitch USS Porter “to further enhance collaboration between U.S. and NATO forces at sea,” in keeping with a 3rd Sixth Fleet readout.
“NATO allies and partners stand together to ensure a safe, stable and secure Black Sea region, building partner capacity to improve effectiveness and interoperability,” the report stated.
The Black Sea area has lengthy been a flashpoint for tensions between Russia on one facet and the U.S. and its NATO allies on the opposite. The state of affairs worsened over the summer season because the U.S. and Ukraine rallied some 30 nations to conduct the annual Exercise Sea Breeze within the Black Sea, drawing Russian navy workouts and anger.
Frictions have been particularly extreme within the area for the reason that annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of a battle with jap Ukraine separatists that Kyiv has accused Moscow of backing. Russia has rejected direct ties and has referred to as on Ukraine to interact instantly in talks geared towards securing particular standing for the self-declared People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk within the Donbass area.
“Accusing us of destroying Ukraine’s territorial integrity is unseemly and dishonest,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed the Rossiya-24 outlet on Monday. “It is being destroyed by those who are trying to make it a super-unitary state while reducing the languages of ethnic minorities, primarily Russian, to the status of token tools of communication, and making education in Russian and other languages nonexistent. This is a neo-Nazi approach to society building.”
That identical day, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stated it was Moscow that was oppressing minority rights, accusing Russian authorities of limiting the actions of ethnic Ukrainian organizations throughout the nation.
“We call on the international community to impartially assess the ongoing harsh deterioration of the human rights situation in Russia, to increase political and diplomatic pressure on the Russian authorities in order to stop ultimately the attack on the rights of the Ukrainian national minority in Russia,” the ministry stated.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the COP26 U.N. local weather change convention in Glasgow, Scotland.
“Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity,” in accordance a State Department readout. “He welcomed Ukraine’s steps to address corruption and underscored that, together with our allies and partners, the United States would continue to reinforce Ukrainian energy security, including by reducing the risks posed by the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.”
The Nord Stream 2 serves as a direct line for Europe-bound gasoline between Russia and Germany, bypassing Ukraine and elevating issues in Kyiv that Moscow may minimize off the move to the previous Soviet republic as leverage over geopolitical points.
In a tweet, Zelensky stated that he and Blinken additionally mentioned “the tense security situation in Donbas” in addition to U.S.-Ukraine “military-defense cooperation” and “challenges in the energy sector.” He stated the U.S. “firmly supports” Ukraine’s “territorial integrity, praises progress in reforms and a strong commitment to their implementation.”
Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kaila V. Peters/Sixth Fleet/U.S. Navy