The U.S. and Ukrainian Sea Breeze 2010 exercises were started at the Odesa House of Officers on Monday.
"I am glad to announce the beginning of the Ukraine-U.S. Sea Breeze exercises. Thirteen member countries began the exercises, which will help Ukraine practice interaction with other fleets. Bearing in mind the sea piracy hazard, the exercises will focus on deterring sea piracy. They will be based on the experience gained in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Aden," Ukrainian Navy Commander Vice-Admiral Viktor Maksymov.
Ukraine is a leader by the number of sailors seized by sea pirates, so the exercises are extremely important for it, he said.
In all, the exercises will involve about 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen and almost 500 servicemen from twelve countries – Azerbaijan, Belgium, Greece, Georgia, Denmark, Moldova, Germany, Poland, Romania, Turkey, Sweden and the United States.
The coastal phase of the exercises will take place at the Shyroky Lan training range in the Mykolaiv region. A Ukrainian marine battalion and Georgian and Moldovan platoons will be stationed there. The naval phase of the exercises will take place in the northwestern area of the Black Sea.
The multinational staff of the exercises will be headquartered at the Ukrainian Navy’s western naval base in Odesa.
The aircraft will be based at the Odesa airport and the Shkilne airfield.
Apart from servicemen, the exercises will involve about three dozen warships and cutters and twelve aircraft. In addition, five ships belonging to the Ukrainian Coast Guard have been invited to the exercises.
Ukraine has been playing host to Black Sea naval exercises since 1997. The drill is generally a bilateral affair (Ukraine and the United States), but other countries are welcome to join in.
There were no Sea Breeze exercises in 2009.
