What message does Sea Breeze send to Moscow?

NATO and allied military exercises are generally claimed to be defensive, designed to train the “interoperability” of different forces. But any large-scale military exercise close to an adversary’s borders sends a geopolitical message — in this case that NATO will not allow parts of the Black Sea to become a Russian “pond.” The exercise also offers support to Ukraine, which is engaged in a conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. “We are demonstrating to the world that the Black Sea is an international sea. It is open and available for the free transport of commerce, of shipping, for all nations, and it is not owned by any one nation,” Capt. Kyle Gantt said at a briefing Tuesday. Gantt is deputy commander of Task Force 65, the U.S. Navy’s forward-deployed destroyer squadron in Europe, headquartered in Spain. In April, Russia’s military announced it was blocking off three sections of the Black Sea near Crimea to foreign ships until October, a move that angered Ukraine.

What is different about this year’s Sea Breeze exercises?

They are the biggest. In 2019, 19 countries and 32 vessels from NATO members, European allies and former Soviet republics took part. This year, 32 countries and 40 ships are participating, including Japan, South Korea and Australia. The size and scope of this year’s exercise sends a strong geopolitical message to Moscow. Sea Breeze is taking place amid heightened tensions — and not just because of the HMS Defender incident. In March and April, Russia deployed at least 100,000 troops close to Ukraine’s border, shifting tanks and equipment across the country. Moscow called it a snap exercise in military readiness. Many troops remain in the region after the drill, according to Western and Ukraine military officials.

How is Russia reacting?

Russia often calls NATO and allied exercises “anti-Russian” even though Russia frequently conducts military maneuvers of its own. Moscow claims Washington is trying to turn the Black Sea into a zone of military brinkmanship. In his annual marathon question phone-in Wednesday, Putin said NATO uses exercises such as Sea Breeze to deploy military infrastructure in Ukraine, in what Russia sees as a direct security threat. Putin sees Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians as one people with a Russian identity, arguing that Ukraine has been betrayed by its leaders and is under “external governance” by Washington. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the Sea Breeze exercises “a provocative muscle-flexing game.” “While stating its readiness for dialogue, in reality the North Atlantic bloc is deliberately winding up the situation along the perimeter of our frontiers, raising the risk of armed incidents,” she told reporters. Russia responded to Sea Breeze with a show of force, testing air defense systems in Crimea, deploying some 20 warplanes and helicopters including Su-24M bombers, as well as S-400 and Pantsir surface-to-air missile systems. Russian pro-Kremlin online media outlet Life reported military sources saying Russia could use electronic warfare to disable a U.S. destroyer taking part in the Sea Breeze exercise — such as the USS Ross — and take it prisoner.

What other military exercises are coming up?

NATO plans to run 95 exercises in 2021, 37 of which are open to NATO partners. NATO members will conduct 220 separate national and multinational exercises. The Defender Europe 21 exercise in May involved 26 nations and 28,000 forces. Russia will hold a major strategic military exercise, Zapad 2021, in September with Belarus, an annual event focused on what Russia calls the “western strategic direction.” It conducts constant military drills. Russia’s Defense Ministry said last month that it planned to monitor the Sea Breeze exercises and “if necessary, respond adequately to the evolving situation in the interests of ensuring the military security of the Russian Federation.”

What rules cover military exercises?

All sides hold military exercises, although they often feel uneasy when adversaries mount major training operations close to their borders. The more exercises in tense, militarized border regions, the higher the chances that a misunderstanding could trigger conflict. Under the Vienna Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, all signatories are expected to share military calendars and report major military exercises in advance. The agreement also limits their size and frequency. When more than 13,000 troops are involved, the hosts of a military exercise are supposed to invite observers from other OSCE members. But the agreement is under pressure, with complaints that Russia routinely understates the numbers of troops to avoid hosting foreign observers.

Europe

The U.S.-Ukraine Sea Breeze naval exercises, explained

By Robyn Dixon

July 2, 2021 at 1:35 p.m. EDT

Helicopters taking part in the Sea Breeze military exercises in the Mykolayiv region of Ukraine on June 30. (Sergey Smolentsev/Reuters)

The Sea Breeze military exercises, hosted by the United States and Ukraine and including 32 nations from as far away as Australia, are underway in the Black Sea and nearby areas, an increasing friction point between NATO and Russia.

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Those tensions were on display last month when the British destroyer HMS Defender crossed briefly through Black Sea waters that are considered internationally as Ukrainian but are claimed by Russia after its 2014 annexation of Crimea. Russian planes buzzed the vessel. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it also unleashed warning shots and bombs, but Britain denies any such actions took place.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called it a provocation by Britain and the United States, saying that he could have sunk the ship and it would not have provoked a world war, “because the other side knows they cannot win.”

Here’s what you need to know about Sea Breeze 2021: