US orders amphibious assault ship into Black Sea after Moscow warns tensions escalating dangerously in waters off coast of Russia
Jul 8, 2021
American sailors at the helm of a naval landing vessel have charted course for the Black Sea to take part in wargames alongside other NATO forces, the US Sixth Fleet has announced on Thursday, amid fears of conflict in the region.
According to commanders, the US Naval Ship Yuma, a Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport craft, “began its northbound transit into the Black Sea to operate with our NATO allies and partners.” The twin-hulled catamaran is able to transit a whole company of US Marines and is equipped with both a flight deck and a ramp to allow armored vehicles to rapidly roll into battle.
The Yuma will take part in the colossal ‘Sea Breeze’ exercises along with personnel from 32 separate nations, including Ukraine, the UK, France, Poland, Georgia, Senegal, South Korea, Pakistan, Japan and Morocco, among others.
Continue reading at www.rt.com
The NATO-Ukraine Sea Breeze exercise could ultimately help create the circumstances for real conflict with Russia in the Black Sea
By Scott Ritter*
Jun 30, 2021
NATO and Ukraine have carried out joint naval exercises for 24 years, but the current drill comes at a time when NATO expansion and Russian pushback looks like it might escalate.
The question is: do some elements within the military alliance want it?
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is upholding a 24-year tradition by engaging in a joint naval exercise with Ukraine. The exercise, known as Sea Breeze 21, runs from June 28 through July and will be conducted exclusively in the Black Sea region. It consists of various amphibious warfare, land maneuver warfare, diving operations, maritime interdiction operations, air defense, special operations integration, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue operations.
Continue reading at www.defenddemocracy.press
NATO Practices Sinking Russian Submarines in the Arctic
Jun 30, 2021
NATO began its annual Dynamic Mongoose anti-submarine warfare exercise on June 28 off the coast of Norway in what the military bloc deems the High North: the Arctic region, which it has identified as its domain since 2009. (As it has the Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea.)
The code name for the war games may seem puzzling; there’s a noticeable incongruity with the name of an animal primarily associated with South Asia and Africa used for maneuvers on the top of the world. It’s less baffling when one recalls the mongoose is used to kill snakes. Russian submarines are the snakes.
Continue reading at news.antiwar.com
NATO is exercising on attacking Russia from the Northwest
Jun 28 2021
On June 29 and 30, the second Ramstein Alloy exercise this year will see Allied and Partner air forces come together to conduct live-fly training in the Baltic States and international airspace over the Baltic Sea.
This iteration of the Ramstein Alloy exercise series will be hosted by Estonia, with Allies Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Turkey and NATO Partner Finland as well as NATO E-3A AWACS scheduled to participate in the training drills with more than 20 aircraft.
Regular training and cooperation with our regional Allies and Partners is essential to ensure we have an effective force in place to safeguard the Baltic Region
Continue reading at www.defenddemocracy.press
Pakistan Navy to take part in Black Sea drill
Jun 26, 2021
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Navy will participate in the upcoming naval exercise ‘Sea Breeze 2021 (SB21)’ as an observer.
The exercise, being held from June 28 to July 10 in the Black Sea region, is being co-hosted by US Sixth Fleet and Ukrainian Navy.
“Pakistan is among the participating countries and Pakistan Defence Attaché Ukraine will participate as observer,” an official of Pakistan Navy’s media directorate said.
He said no Pakistani ship would take part in the activities.
Continue reading at www.dawn.com
Belarus: NATO Increasingly Building Up Its Offensive Potential on Our Border
Jul. 8, 2021
At a ceremony honoring graduates of his nation’s higher military schools, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko lauded the role of officers in the armed forces as being “highly qualified specialists, commanders and chiefs capable of resisting any aggressive actions against Belarus.”
He was not speaking in the abstract. Not many heads of state would have to use words like those to a graduating class of a military academy.
Commencing with a broad overview of the state of international affairs, he lamented an incremental and unrelenting collapse of international security arrangements. He stated candidly that to all intents and purposes they no longer exist: “Multilateral global platforms designed to maintain peace and security on the planet have been degraded and demonstrate an inability to effectively perform their functions.”
Continue reading at news.antiwar.com
