Posted on 12/06/2018 4:20:18 PM PST by Zhang Fei
The US has begun making the necessary preparations to sail a warship into the Black Sea, a move that comes amid heightened tensions in the region following Russia's seizure of Ukrainian ships and detention of Ukrainian sailors.
The US military has requested that the State Department notify Turkey of its possible plans to sail a warship into the Black Sea, three US officials tell CNN, a move they said is a response to Russia's actions against Ukraine in the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced Wednesday that its troops in eastern Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014, conducted a military drill with its Pantsir anti-aircraft missile systems.
Active preparations
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also claimed Wednesday that the Ukrainian government had undertaken "active preparations" for a military offensive in eastern Ukraine, using the recent declaration of martial law in select regions as a cover.
"Substantial offensive components are being transferred to the region, which are being dispersed along the entire contact line," spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday at a press briefing.
The US is required to notify Turkey about the passage through the straits under the Montreux Convention, a 1936 treaty that governs the passage of military vessels through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, which connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.
Under the rules of the treaty, countries that do not have a coastline on the Black Sea are required to provide Turkey with at least 15 days' notice prior to transiting the straits.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
MUGA (Make Ukraine Great Again)
[MUGA (Make Ukraine Great Again)]
That would be Nazi Germany with France, Belgium, etc all added in.
The point is that when we launched the Ukrainian coup, some nutzos actually thought they would steal Sevastopol and make it into a NATO navy base.
That’s about as likely as us handing over Norfolk to China.
(assuming we already haven’t)
“- the defense of our allies against encroachment by a massive foreign power.”
And you said that without the slightest sense of irony.
In any case, it is pretty dumb for us to sail in the Black sea. We really have no need for it as anything you can do there from a ship can be done from probably a dozen land bases and not bottle up a fleet. It’s very roughly 250 miles x 700 miles.
As for the sea of Azov, that would be the height of insanity to sail there even if we had a right to (we don’t, it’s legally similar to the great lakes).
But to go there would be the utterly crazed for our fleet. Shallow, small, and with two heavily controlled choke points. Imagine a USN ship in the Sea of Azov for some nutty reason, and the captain hears the news that the bridge over the straight has “collapsed”. He is trapped
I agree.
It would be nice to have support from our European allies...
I think war now would be a mistake. Our biggest current threat is internal. If we have to get a Dem house to fund a war, Dems will get most of their domestic socialist agenda. Not worth Crimea.
so what?
“It would be easy pickens if Putin is stupid enough to do anything.”
Russia could paint the Black Sea “black” with combat aircraft, Frigates, Patrol boats and Diesel subs.
They have numbers in proximity.
Russia has the ability to ensure an entire Surface Action Group, once entered, never leaves the Black Sea.
UNLESS, the US is willing to deploy very substantial air assets in Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey to counter half the Russian military.
After that everyone is in too deep to get out.
That’s not easy pickin’s.
That said, Russia usually allows 1 or two Burkes in at a time without much fanfare. But if they see a real, effective and threatening force they will act to expel them.
Oh, and it was very unwise people who added Bulgaria and Romania to NATO, likely Turkey too. No good to America will ever come of that.
Russia has nearly a million men buried in Crimea.
Killed by British, French and German armies. Even the Ottomans took a couple of swings there.
They’ll never surrender it.
I have a dream that one day the military industrial complex will go to hell and the usa and russia can once again be allies against globalist bastards,radical muslem extemists,protecting whats left of western civilization from the crazies. But thats just me. Btw, the ukranian govt is a cia installed dictatorship and crimea was russian 500 years ago.
Everybody knows that B.O. is president of Africa.
After they just sent a mysterious device into orbit. Good thinking, guys.
Naturally Ukraine will provide whatever size "crisis" they're told to manufacture and whether it makes sense or not doesn't matter. What matters is that it works as a distraction from what scum right here in the US are going to be doing to try and save their own asses.
“sail warships”??
Bit dated term.
But it is CNN.
Bulgaria is a member of NATO also.
>Russia is already 2x the size of the next largest country on Earth. Do we want it to be 3x, 4x or 5x before we start trying to prevent it from getting any bigger?
That’s some of the craziest argument I’ve ever seen, in 20 years on FR.
Do you actually believe that argument, or do you just think so little of others that you think they might buy it as persuasive? I’m really quite baffled as to what the angle is, here.
[That’s some of the craziest argument I’ve ever seen, in 20 years on FR.
Do you actually believe that argument, or do you just think so little of others that you think they might buy it as persuasive? I’m really quite baffled as to what the angle is, here.]
Try to keep up.>>>
So you think at this point that a few ship loads of LNG will keep up with a dedicated pipeline feed? Russia cuts off the Gas and Germany freezes for the winter. The question is strategic, not about anything else. Ship supply ramp up would take many months to suppl Germany , which does not have the LNG storage to supply itself like the Russian pipeine does.
NATO is toast.
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