July 10, 2015

July 12, 2010

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Five years ago, on July 12, 2010, the multinational peacekeeping naval exercise known as Sea Breeze 2010 began in Ukraine and ran until July 23, 2010. The coastal phase of the exercises were held at the Shyroky Lan training range in the Mykolayiv region. The naval phase took place in the northwestern sector of the Black Sea, with a headquarters based in Odesa.

The goal of the 2010 exercises was a mock anti-piracy operation, with participation from 11 other countries (Azerbaijan, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Turkey, with Austria as a military observer) in addition to the U.S. and Ukraine.

More than 36 warships and motorboats, as well as 12 aircraft took part in the exercises that had interaction among law enforcement agencies of different countries in countering terrorism, piracy and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in addition to search and rescue operations and monitoring of navigation.

Sea Breeze exercises have been held by the U.S. and Ukraine since 1997 under a memorandum of mutual understanding and cooperation in defense and military relations between the U.S. Department of Defense and Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense. In 2006 and 2008, the exercises were disrupted by pro-Russia forces in Feodosia, on the Crimean peninsula, and by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, which failed to approve the 2009 exercise.

The 2014 Sea Breeze exercise included Canada, France, Spain, Romania, Turkey and Bulgaria, in addition to Ukraine and the U.S. During the exercises, Russian warplanes attempted to provoke a Canadian warship – the HMCS Toronto – after circling the ship multiple times.

Bulgaria is hosting the Exercise Breeze 2015, which ran from July 3 to 12, with a focus on a crisis response scenario, building interoperability through practice with the host nation and the invited nations, as well as NATO units. The event was sponsored by the Bulgarian Navy and included 30 military and auxiliary ships and boats as well as a Turkish submarine. Numerous air assets, including helicopters from the Bulgarian Air Force also are taking part. Participant nations include Romania, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and the United States, as well as NATO’s Maritime Group 1 and NATO’s Mine Countermeasures Group 2.

Sea Breeze 2015 is set as a 25-day exercise held between June and October in the Black Sea, and at training sites in the regions of Odesa, Mykolayiv and Kherson, with at most 2,500 troops taking part. Ukraine and the U.S. are to be represented by a maximum of 1,000 troops, and the remainder of personnel (up to 500 troops) will come from other NATO countries and member countries of NATO’s Partnership for Peace initiative.

Other joint military exercises approved by Ukraine for 2015 include Fearless Guardian (U.S.-Ukraine), Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident (U.S.-NATO-Ukraine), Secure Skies (Ukraine-Poland) and Law and Order (Ukraine-Poland).

Source: “Sea Breeze 2010 drills start,” The Ukrainian Weekly, July 18, 2010.

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