The smiles of the presidents do not cancel the problems: in the Black Sea Fleet, not everything is as great as they show on TV

In the Black Sea Fleet, not everything is as great as it is shown on TV

The day of the Navy in Sevastopol was celebrated with brilliance. And although much was there, as last year, when the ships of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia and the Naval Forces of Ukraine took part in the anniversary of the 60th naval parade, the scope of the current celebration surpassed all expectations.

On the raid of the hero city next to the oldest rocket artillery cruiser of Russia, Admiral Golovko and one of the first large anti-submarine ships of Azov, the newest ships of the Black Sea Fleet lined up-the Moscow missile cruiser and an air pillow of Bora, the only diesel boat, returned after ten years of repair "Warsaw", as well as nine fighting pennants of Ukraine. Among them are the hetman Sagaidachny frigate, the Lutsk corvette, the minesweeper “Yellow Waters” ... And all this armada shot, attacked the enemy, landed the landing and seized the “fortified shore” of the conditional enemy.

The presence of the presidents of the two countries - Vladimir Putin and Leonid Kuchma attached special piquancy and significance to the holiday. They, as was accepted at such events, together visited the flagships of their fleets together, made the corresponding to the moment of speech (and Kuchma, which was striking, first spoke Russian everywhere). In this language, both leaders spoke out for the further unity and friendship of sailors of truly fraternal states.

True, the festive celebrations failed to obscure the problems that exist in relations between the two countries and two fleets. By the way, the sailors reported some of them to the presidents and received a promise to “figure it out”. But officers of the Russian fleet have been dealing with these problems for years.

For example, for the parcel that the Russian mother sends his son-matros to Sevastopol, the warrior has to pay hryvnias as many taxes as the parcel itself may not even cost. The Russian captains of all ranks, like midshipmen, colonels and lieutenant colonels who have noticed their pension, cannot receive money in rubles, since the laws of Ukraine do not allow this. And transferred to hryvnias at the rate of local banks, it turns out to be less than their colleagues from the Ukrainian Navy receive. It is just right for people who have served in Russia all their lives to accept Ukrainian citizenship.

No less problems in the relationship of the military two fleets. Only a week before their holiday, they began to carry a joint duty on the Sevastopol Bays, earlier it was necessary to agree for a long time, who and how would hold their ship and who would give way to whom. The naval pilots of the Black Sea Fleet took several months of long bureaucratic red tape, while Kyiv gave the go-ahead to replace the old Su-17B attack aircraft with relatively new Su-24. In the capital of Ukraine, some saw in such a replacement the mythical "aggressive intentions of Moscow."

And to the relations with NATO fleets in two countries - a different approach. At the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, they still tremble nervously when American or Turkish ships enter the Sevastopol raid. And about participation in joint exercises with the North Atlantic Alliance, where the Ukrainian Navy is almost regular partners, there is often no question of the Black Sea.

Apparently, it will take more than one festive, or rather, working meeting of the presidents of the two countries, and maybe other presidents who will replace Putin and Kuchma, so that relations between our fleets and states become, as everyone wants, truly fraternal.