A series of exercises in the Black Sea begins today with the Russian Navy. This was reported by the Russian “Kommersant”. The nearest of them is only 150 kilometers from the Bulgarian coast. Ukraine has also planned a small naval exercise between Odessa and the city of Ochakov.
Virtually the entire northern part of the Black Sea will be the site of major exercises that will do much damage to the merchant shipping of the Black Sea countries.
The day before, the command of the Russian fleet confirmed the information about the exercises and said that they were planned.
Until last night, Kommersant did not receive an answer from the Ministry of Defense as to whether corridors for the passage of civilian ships were provided in the exercise areas.
The United States has seen Moscow’s plans to turn half of the northern Black Sea into a military exercise zone, an attempt to limit Ukraine’s maritime sovereignty and allow merchant ships to enter its ports.
“Under the pretext of military exercises, Russia is restricting the freedom of navigation in the Black and Azov Seas,” the US embassy in Kiev said in a statement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied that his country was trying to stifle Ukraine with these exercises. However, this is not what people involved in shipping are telling Kommersant.
“Many people are considering giving up entering Ukrainian ports altogether. A day’s stay costs a lot of money, and a week’s costs a lot, a lot more, “a businessman told the paper.
According to the shipowners, the corridor to Odessa is very narrow.
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