Ukraine and several countries, including the United States of America (USA), today started joint military exercises in the Black Sea, where there are high tensions with Moscow and where last Sunday an incident between Russian forces and a British warship took place.
The naval exercises called "Sea Breeze 2021" will last until July 2021 and include about 10 soldiers and 5.000 ships from about thirty countries, including several NATO member countries.
The USA is sending the destroyer "Ross" (USS Ross) there.
Kiev believes that the aim of the maneuvers is to send "a strong message to preserve stability and peace in the region", the commander of the Ukrainian fleet said at the start of the exercise in Odesa, a southern Ukrainian port.
Ukraine has had tense relations with Russia since pro-Westerners came to power in Kiev in 2014, after which Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula, and war broke out in eastern Ukraine between its forces and pro-Russian separatists.
Since then, there have been several armed incidents in the Black Sea, and the latest one was with the British destroyer "Defender" (HMS Defender).
Moscow said it fired warning shots at the British ship on June 23, claiming it had violated its maritime border near Crimea and entered Russian territorial waters.
London has denied that the Russians fired warning shots at their ship, saying the destroyer was sailing through Ukrainian territorial waters.
Great Britain, as well as other countries, does not recognize the Russian annexation of Crimea, nor the change of the sea border around it.
Russia then warned that it would shoot not only to warn, but also to "hit" other people's ships to protect its borders.
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