Contents tagged with Black Sea

  • Russia detains Ukrainian bulk cargo ship in the Azov Sea

    On the night of Saturday, September 1, the coast guard of the Russian Federal Security Service detained the Ukrainian bulk cargo ship Amadore in the Azov Sea, which was on the way from Mariupol near Berdyansk, reported on Facebook the Editor-in-Chief of the information portal BlackSeaNews, Andrey Klimenko.

    "At 10:00 am on Saturday morning, the vessel was still detained. Usually such detentions continue for three hours. However, on the way to the Azov Sea this vessel waited for permission in …

  • Russia blocks sea route to Odessa

    On Wednesday, August 15, between 7:00 and 20:00, the north-western portion of the Black Sea, from the Tarkhanut Peninsula to the Danube Delta, was closed to ship movement. According to the Ukrainian Military Portal, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet was to blame for the disruption.

    Several civilian vessels – the cargo ship Nahide-M, the tankers Hercules and Yukon Star – were forced to stop moving and drop anchors. The civilian vessels Ocean Force and BFP Melody were warned by Russian military ships …

  • Ukraine unveils its Navy Development strategy

    The Naval command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has unveiled its development strategy for the Navy until 2035, which will enable it to oppose Russian aggression at sea.

    “The Naval Command believes that one of the primary tasks in the restoration of the fleet is to lay the foundations for the systematic and reliable development of the Navy as a form of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the Ukrainian Navy posted on its official Facebook page.

    Virtually everyone employed in the security sector will …

  • Ukrainian and NATO ships carry out military exercises in the Black Sea

    The Ukrainian Navy, standing NATO maritime group and standing NATO mine countermeasures group carried out PASSEX joint military exercises in the Black Sea, reported Ukraine Naval Command’s press service. The goal of the training was to improve interoperability and to practice interaction as part of multinational tactical units in accordance with NATO standards.

    Three tactical groups took part in the maneuvers: multi-purpose ships, mine countermeasures ships and gunboats.

    At the beginning of …

  • Kyiv: Ukraine negotiating sanctions with western partners against Russian Black Sea ports

    According to Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan, Ukraine is negotiating sanctions with the West against Russian Black Sea ports.

    “We are holding negotiations with our European and American partners in order to impose appropriate sanctions against the Black Sea ports because of the blockade of the Azov Sea  for Ukrainian ships [ by Russia],” he said on channel 112 TV.

    According to Omelyan, the wave of sanctions against Moscow is rising and the latest decision by US Congress …

  • American warships enter the Black Sea for joint exercises with Ukraine

    On Saturday, July 7, the U.S. 6th Fleet Blue Ridge-class command-and -control ship USS Mount Whitney entered the Black Sea to participate in the American-Ukrainian Sea Breeze 2018 naval exercises at Odessa, reported Naples-based 6th Fleet Command.

    "The Mount Whitney entered the Black Sea on July 7 to carry out security operations at sea, to improve regional marine stability and also to improve training of naval forces of NATO’s allies and partners. Within this mission, the ship will …

  • Ukraine to discuss Russia’s actions in the Azov and Black Seas with the EU

    During the Ukraine-EU Summit on July 9, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to discuss Russia’s military presence in the Black and Azov Seas with EU leaders, which is a cause of concern for Ukraine.  

    “We look forward to a firm position of the EU regarding new Russian challenges for security in the Black and Azov Seas,” Poroshenko wrote on Facebook page. “We will discuss this issue with the EU leaders at the summit on July 9.”

    On Monday, the Secretary of the National Security and …

  • Russia sends warships armed with Kalibr missiles to the Black Sea

    Russia is sending small missile ships of the Caspian flotilla into the Black Sea, reported bmpd.livejournal.com.

    The ships Grad Sviyazhsk and Veliky Ustyug, project 21631 (class Buyan-M), accompanied by an RB-10 raid tugboat, made the trip along inland waterways from the Caspian to the Black Sea.

    The Grad Sviyazhsk (plant no. 631, entered into service in the Caspian Flotilla of the Russian Navy on July 27, 2014) and Veliky Ustyug (plant no. 633, entered into service in the Caspian Flotilla on …

  • NATO: Russia violates military balance in the Black Sea region

    Russia’s actions in the Black Sea region have violated the zone’s military balance, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs James Appathurai stated, the Agerpres agency reports.

    Appathurai, who is NATO Secretary General’s Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, made this statement while speaking on Tuesday at a forum devoted to security in the Atlantic and Black Sea.

    Following the annexation of the Crimea by Russia, “a lot of military equipment was …

  • Kyiv: Russia may charge the crew of detained Ukrainian shipping vessel with terrorism

    The members of the crew of the Ukrainian fishing vessel YAMK-0041 that Russian border guards detained near Russian-annexed Crimea could be accused of terrorism. This assumption on Radio Krym.Realii was expressed by Deputy Head of State Border Service of Ukraine Oleh Slobodyan.

    Slobodyan explained that the Russian government is now trying to make the crew criminally responsible for anything from terrorism to arms smuggling. He said the objective is to paint the crew as not simply offenders but …