Moscow. July 5. INTERFAX-AVN-The Russian military is strengthening the grouping of ships in the Black Sea at the expense of the missile cruiser "Moscow" and the frigate with cruise missiles "Caliber" "Admiral Essen", which are returning from the Mediterranean Sea after the exercises.
"The flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Guards missile cruiser Moskva and the frigate Admiral Essen, are passing through the Black Sea Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus," the Black Sea Fleet said on Monday.
According to the military, the ships are making the transition from the Mediterranean Sea to the permanent base of Sevastopol. "After arriving in Sevastopol, the ships will replenish their material reserves, conduct a scheduled technical inspection and continue performing tasks for their intended purpose in accordance with the fleet's combat training plan," the Black Sea Fleet said.
Major Sea Breeze maneuvers are taking place in the Black Sea with the participation of US ships, other NATO members and their partners.
The Russian military is monitoring the Sea Breeze exercises, the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation reported on June 28.
The Sea Breeze maneuvers involved 32 warships, 40 aircraft and five thousand military personnel from 17 NATO member countries, as well as alliance partners. In total, military personnel from 32 countries are expected to participate.
According to the US 6th Operational Fleet, during the exercises, combat operations at sea, on land and in the air are being practiced, including amphibious landings, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft warfare.
On June 26, the American missile destroyer USS Ross entered the Black Sea. It can carry up to 56 Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of 1.6 thousand km.
The British destroyer Defender and the Dutch frigate Evertsen have also been in the Black Sea since June 14.
On June 23, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian military and border guards opened warning fire on the course of the destroyer Defender, which violated the Russian border in the Black Sea near Cape Fiolent (Crimea).
Defender was legally in international waters near the Crimean Peninsula, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters earlier. "I think he (the ship - "IF") could fully, reasonably use international waters, " the British media quoted him as saying. "The important point is that we do not recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea," the prime minister said.
On June 29, the Dutch Defense Ministry accused Russian aircraft of unsafe actions near the Dutch Navy frigate Evertsen in the Black Sea. According to the Dutch military, the incident occurred on June 24, when the frigate was near the Crimea. The Dutch side claims that Russian fighters flew for several hours at a dangerously close distance to Evertsen, simulating attacks.
The Russian military denied this.
Russian planes were lifted into the air to prevent violation of the state border of the Russian Federation, the Dutch frigate was heading for the Kerch Strait, the Russian Defense Ministry said last Tuesday.
On July 1, the National Defense Control Center reported that the Russian military began tracking the frigate "Virginio Pheasant" of the Italian Navy.
On June 29, retired Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, the former commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, told Interfax that he did not rule out new incidents in the Black Sea due to the Sea Breeze maneuvers involving more than 30 ships.
"These 32 ships are currently plowing the Black Sea. The Black Sea is simply not enough. They may stumble over some stone. I do not rule out the repetition of such incidents, " Komoyedov said.
Earlier, Russia announced that from April 24 to October 31, the exercise of the right of peaceful passage through the territorial waters of the Russian Federation for foreign warships and other state vessels in a number of areas of the Black Sea is suspended.
As follows from the data of the bulletin of the Department of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, published on April 14, this applies to the water area along the Southern coast of the Crimea (from Sevastopol to Gurzuf), the area off the coast of the Kerch Peninsula (near the Opuksky Nature Reserve) and the sea area to the west of the Crimea.
