Translated material
Sea of confrontation
The military-political situation in the Black Sea is potentially explosive. What forces are concentrated here
The Russian command pulled significant military aviation forces to the Black Sea region, landing ships from the Northern (SF) and Baltic (BF) fleets, the Caspian flotilla (KF), as well as the marine infantry with armored vehicles and paratroopers of the Airborne Forces, which are now conducting exercises on boarding/unloading on board. From the BF and the SF approached Europe with a stop in Syria of 4 large landing ships (BDK). Each BDK is able to land on the unequipped coast to the battalion with heavy equipment. From the CF to the Black Sea, 15 ships and ships are thrown through the Volga -Don channel, of which 8 landing along with the marines there.
In total, the region contains a shock group of up to 25 landing ships of various types, capable of landing up to 5 thousand fighters from one entry, and then go for reinforcements.
Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu claims that the military-political leadership of Ukraine seeks to destabilize the situation in the Donbass, and the USA and NATO continue to conduct provocative activities in the airspace and the Black Sea: “The military-political situation in the southwestern strategic direction remains complex, and a number of foreign states are trying to increase its military and western borders of Russia.” After the collapse of the USSR, the Black Sea Fleet actually did not have underwater forces, especially since the Turks limit the passage of submarines of the Black Sea countries through the Bosphorus - only for repair or in one direction to the place of constant deployment. But in recent years, 636.3 Diesel-Electric Boats of Project 636.3 “Warsaw” have been built and transferred to the Black Sea, and now they all went to sea and, it seems, secretly occupied combat positions, hugging only to charge the batteries using Schnorhel (a device for the engine under water).
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that for more than six months, from April 24, until October 31, he closes three zones in territorial waters around Crimea for the “peaceful passage of foreign warships and other state vessels”. International law and Russian legislation, in principle, resolves the “peaceful passage” through our territorial waters (up to 12 naval miles, or 22.2 km from the shore), for example, to cut off the angle to reduce the path when passing by the cape. Now the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for six months canceled for the zone of the western tip of the Crimea (Tarkhankutsky Peninsula), for the zone from Sevastopol to Gurzuf and still near the Kerch Peninsula in the area of Cape Plack, where the training ground of the 810th Marine Brigade is located and where the units of the Airborne Forces are now imprisoned with the sea.
Almost no state in the world recognizes the reunification of Crimea with the Russian Federation and, accordingly, the Russian right to the territorial sea around the Crimea. Diplomatic protests followed from Kyiv and Washington after the announcement of the passage through three zones. But in general, a public Russian return to the norms of the Cold War clarifies the situation with Innocent Passage and can help prevent unnecessary and dangerous skirmishes.
In the course of the exercises in the Crimea, the Russian authorities additionally closed the airspace for flights over the Southern Crimea from Sevastopol to Feodosia, over the adjacent territorial sea and international waters south of April 24. They did not specifically limit the passage of foreign warships, because, despite all the official rhetoric about the increase in threats, there are no NATO NATO warships in the Black Sea. Although reconnaissance aircraft and drones fly. The Pentagon canceled the two and 10 destroyers of the two destroyers of the USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) and USS ROOSEVELT (DDG-80), which are constantly based in the Spanish port (base) of the company. It was said: in order not to provoke the Russians.
However, now these two destroyers had little sense to go into the Black Sea. According to the rules of the 1936 Montreyo Convention, in early May, in early May, when, according to some experts, there will be a further fate of the confrontation in the Donbass and Ukraine, Donald Cook and Roosevelt would have to leave the Black Sea. And now the English strike aircraft carrier group led by the latest HMS Queen Elizabeth is sent to the East Mediterranean, which has just mastered flights to the ft-35b Lightning II vertical planting stealth fighters. According to the Montreo Convention, the aircraft carrier cannot enter the Black Sea on the tonnate, and he has nothing to do there - he can strike from the Aegean or Mediterranean Seas. But one English destroyer and one frigate from the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier group should pass the Bosphorus in early May and will be able to stay in the Black Sea for almost the end of the month.
Probably, if necessary, if necessary, Donald Cook and Roosevelt may again be approaching, as well as the French, Spanish, German, Italian, Greek, Dutch and other NATO countries - for the most part of a relatively small tonnage (frigates and corvettes), so as not to exceed the general Montreso limit for a total of 30 thousand tons of 30 thousand tons or 45 thousand tons in special circumstances. And, probably, the Turkish Navy will join, to which the restrictions of Montreo do not apply.
At the airbase of the Black Sea countries of NATO, fighting squadrons of Stals and non-steels of combat aircraft of Western Sanizers may appear. Then the situation can become very serious if, of course, by the summer the current tension in the region somehow does not resolve as a result of diplomatic efforts or simply because it is impossible to endlessly keep the troops in the field, and the ships in the campaign is impossible. It is necessary to return them home to the bases and send soldiers who have served their term to demobe.