Russian forces on Thursday began 10 days of military exercises with Belarus, and warships arrived at a strategic port on the Black Sea, as Western diplomats seek to avert what they fear could be an invasion after preparations cloaked as training.
A detachment of six ships arrived at the Sevastopol port in Crimea, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, capping a 7,000-nautical-mile journey to begin what officials describe as a naval exercise. The Russian landing ships typically are used for unloading troops, vehicles, and materiel onto land. Some took part in Russia’s invasion of Georgia in 2008.
Ukrainian officials blasted the maneuvers, calling them an “unprecedented” action that makes navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov virtually impossible. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as Russia’s decision to “block” parts of those seas and the Kerch Strait “under the pretext of holding regular naval exercises.”
“In essence, this is a significant and unjustified complication of international shipping, especially trade, which can cause complex economic and social consequences, especially for the ports of Ukraine,” the Foreign Ministry said. In Moscow, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied in a call with reporters that the drills would affect commercial operations.
Top Russian military commanders flew into Belarus on Wednesday for the maneuvers, which involve thousands of troops and sophisticated weapons systems including S-400 surface-to-air missiles, Pantsir air defense systems, and Su-35 fighter jets.
Officials in Moscow and Minsk have said Russian troops will withdraw after the exercises. But U.S. and European security officials are not convinced, and with the arrival in Russian-annexed Crimea, the ships put Russian troops in striking distance along Ukraine’s southern coastline.
