US to transfer Island-class patrol boats to Ukraine after Sea Breeze exercises
A decision has effectively been made to transfer US military patrol boats to Ukraine after the Sea Breeze 2017 exercises, Rear Admiral of the Ukrainian Navy Andriy Tarasov told Krym.Realii.
“The negotiations have already moved to a lower level, the decision has effectively been made and the details are being discussed. I hope that this process will be quite fast, and that we will get these boats,” Tarasov said.
According to him, Russia uses the fact that modern NATO ships are nearby to work on their aggressive actions.
“They [the Russian military] do this not only in the interests of training their forces, but also with the purpose of carrying out possible provocations. We are ready for these provocations, and the exercises will be held according to plan, despite the actions of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet,” the rear admiral said.
The test of the combat readiness of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet began on July 12. During it, artillery and missile shots were made at airborne and underwater targets, coastline Bastion and Bal missile systems together with missile boats “destroyed” the ships of an imaginary enemy with missile strikes. Russian marines practiced loading equipment and personnel onto large landing ships, and the crews of mine detection ships swept the waterways for mine hazards.
Two days before the Russian exercises, on July 10, the annual Ukrainian-American Sea Breeze 2017 exercises were started in Odessa. More than 3000 soldiers from 16 countries are taking part in the maneuvers, which will take place at sea, in the air, and on the ground.