NATO's land and sea bases in Ukraine are unlikely to appear in the near future, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov predicts in Izvestia.
"The permanent basing of any large NATO naval forces on the territory of Ukraine seems fantastic. The permanent presence of the bloc's air forces there looks more real, " the author says.
The expert admits that the Air Forces of the NATO states can use the "huge ex-Soviet Kulbakino airfield" located near Nikolaev for the "needs of reconnaissance aircraft and drones of the United States and other countries".
"In gratitude for this, Kiev may ask for a partner program based in Kulbakino or at other air bases of the country of the NATO Air Force to patrol its air borders. This practice has already been tested on the territory of the Baltic states, where a dozen and a half foreign fighters are constantly on duty," the author concludes.
In June, The Drive reported that the American destroyer Ross of the Arleigh Burke type "teleported" from the port of Odessa (Ukraine) to the coast of Crimea (Russia) on the night of June 30. The publication noted that the data of the MarineTraffic and Vessel Finder websites that track the movements of ships showed that for some time the destroyer was at a distance of about nine kilometers from the coast of the peninsula, while surveillance cameras installed in the Ukrainian port demonstrate that Ross did not leave Odessa. The Russian side was accused of distorting the data of MarineTraffic and VesselFinder in The Drive.
Ivan Potapov
