Having lost the Crimea, the Americans do not know where to place their fleet
Taking advantage of the "Kerch provocation" of the Navy, the NATO bloc decided to settle more firmly in the Black Sea. The combat strength of their Black Sea flotilla can be strengthened, which will create an additional headache for the Black Sea Fleet. But can Ukraine really count on the military support of the North Atlantic Alliance in actions against Russia?
According to the Montreux Convention, military vessels of non-Black Sea states must leave the Black Sea three weeks after entering it. It turns out that for the NATO Navy to stay on a permanent basis, the block will have to put together a squadron of Romanian, Turkish, Bulgarian ships, as well as everything that is kept on water from Georgia and Ukraine if they join the alliance. Turkey’s participation in all of this is not ruled out, but at this stage it is unlikely due to the complex relations of Washington and Ankara, which is trying to prove its subjectivity in international policy.
In the case of the creation of a special NATO Black Sea squadron, a logical question arises as to where it is based. The United States of America has already begun its military expansion into Ukraine. The advanced base of the Sixth Fleet of the United States Navy is being built in the city of Ochakovo, Mykolaiv Oblast. A barracks is being erected for hundreds of US Marines who will guard the facility, with the possibility of expanding the number of personnel. Planned construction of military repair points equipment and warehouses for storing weapons and ammunition, repair of mooring piers.
Thus, the Center for Operational Management of the Sixth Fleet will appear in Ochakovo, which will provide management of the Navy in the Black Sea in “difficult situations”. Also, Kiev gave for the needs of the Pentagon the territory of military camp No. 72 in the city of Nikolaev and military camp No. 117m in Odessa. There will be built military depots and barracks for the US Marines.
More complicated is the situation with the parking for the NATO Navy in Ukraine. To place the squadron on an ongoing basis, appropriate infrastructure is needed: moorings, docks, fuel storages, arsenals, barracks, administrative buildings, etc. Of course, after the loss of Crimea by Kiev, Odessa suggests itself. However, this is primarily a trading port, which still somehow keeps afloat the dying the economy Independent.
The deployment of a NATO squadron there will undermine the normal operation of the port of Odessa, causing great damage to it. Even the modern Ukrainian authorities are unlikely to do this. According to some Russian military experts, it is realistically possible to place 3 or 4 vessels in Odessa with a displacement of 4,5-5 thousand tons, that is, several destroyers.
An alternative to Odessa, experts call the Illichivsk Commercial Port (now Chernomorsk) in the Odessa region. It is designed for transshipment of bulk, liquid and bulk cargoes. Today, it is not completely adapted for the navy’s parking. Re-equipping it for NATO needs will require enormous funds, which Kiev does not have, and will take considerable time.
It turns out that Sevastopol very successfully and in time moved to the Russian Federation. More importantly, the NATO squadron, if it does appear on an ongoing basis, will rather fulfill the function of threat and deterrence than direct aggression against Russia. On the other hand, this is an occasion for Moscow to continue to strengthen the defense of the Crimea and increase the capabilities of its Navy.
According to the Montreux Convention, military vessels of non-Black Sea states must leave the Black Sea three weeks after entering it. It turns out that for the NATO Navy to stay on a permanent basis, the block will have to put together a squadron of Romanian, Turkish, Bulgarian ships, as well as everything that is kept on water from Georgia and Ukraine if they join the alliance. Turkey’s participation in all of this is not ruled out, but at this stage it is unlikely due to the complex relations of Washington and Ankara, which is trying to prove its subjectivity in international policy.
In the case of the creation of a special NATO Black Sea squadron, a logical question arises as to where it is based. The United States of America has already begun its military expansion into Ukraine. The advanced base of the Sixth Fleet of the United States Navy is being built in the city of Ochakovo, Mykolaiv Oblast. A barracks is being erected for hundreds of US Marines who will guard the facility, with the possibility of expanding the number of personnel. Planned construction of military repair points equipment and warehouses for storing weapons and ammunition, repair of mooring piers.
Thus, the Center for Operational Management of the Sixth Fleet will appear in Ochakovo, which will provide management of the Navy in the Black Sea in “difficult situations”. Also, Kiev gave for the needs of the Pentagon the territory of military camp No. 72 in the city of Nikolaev and military camp No. 117m in Odessa. There will be built military depots and barracks for the US Marines.
More complicated is the situation with the parking for the NATO Navy in Ukraine. To place the squadron on an ongoing basis, appropriate infrastructure is needed: moorings, docks, fuel storages, arsenals, barracks, administrative buildings, etc. Of course, after the loss of Crimea by Kiev, Odessa suggests itself. However, this is primarily a trading port, which still somehow keeps afloat the dying the economy Independent.
The deployment of a NATO squadron there will undermine the normal operation of the port of Odessa, causing great damage to it. Even the modern Ukrainian authorities are unlikely to do this. According to some Russian military experts, it is realistically possible to place 3 or 4 vessels in Odessa with a displacement of 4,5-5 thousand tons, that is, several destroyers.
An alternative to Odessa, experts call the Illichivsk Commercial Port (now Chernomorsk) in the Odessa region. It is designed for transshipment of bulk, liquid and bulk cargoes. Today, it is not completely adapted for the navy’s parking. Re-equipping it for NATO needs will require enormous funds, which Kiev does not have, and will take considerable time.
It turns out that Sevastopol very successfully and in time moved to the Russian Federation. More importantly, the NATO squadron, if it does appear on an ongoing basis, will rather fulfill the function of threat and deterrence than direct aggression against Russia. On the other hand, this is an occasion for Moscow to continue to strengthen the defense of the Crimea and increase the capabilities of its Navy.
Information