When Russia annexed Crimea and the port of Sevastopol, Ukraine lost three-quarters of its navy personnel and warships
floats in the Black Sea. Two Russian warships and the odd dolphin lurk nearby. Then the order is given: “Release the killer tomato.” Several warships line up alongside the 9,000-tonne destroyer, as though at a shooting gallery. A gigantic inflatable cube, garishly true to its name, is hoisted over the edge of, the pride of Ukraine’s navy, takes the first potshots.
The target practice is part of the annual Sea Breeze exercise, led by America and Ukraine, now in its 19th iteration. The exercise posits that the nefarious state of Blackland, a behemoth to the east, is fuelling an insurgency in Maroonland, a breakaway province of Roseland. Ukraine, America, Romania, Bulgaria and Georgia play the good guys. One of’s standing fleets, led by a Canadian frigate, stands in for the foes. The scenario requires little imagination.
Ukraine is now rebuilding. Its short-term goal is a “mosquito fleet” of small, agile and affordable vessels to deter Russia in coastal waters, rather than big and expensive warships for the high seas. Two shiny new patrol boats, bristling with guns, sat in Odessa’s harbour on the country’s naval day on July 7th. Stepan Poltorak, Ukraine’s new minister of defence, and Vice-Admiral Lisa Franchetti, commander of America’s Europe-based Sixth Fleet, clambered into one and cruised off.
However, Ukraine needs more than arms. Its military culture prefers top-down orders and centralised planning to the initiative and autonomy favoured inarmed forces. “We still see remnants of the Soviet command structure,” says a Swedish officer who is mentoring the Ukrainians in the operations centre of the exercise. “We’re trying to teach an old dog new tricks.” He says that corruption seems to be down and the work ethic up. In past years, the operations room would shut down in the afternoon.
American and European support for Ukraine reflects a wider Western concern about the balance of power in the Black Sea. Russia had sent only one new warship to its Black Sea fleet between 1991 and 2014, says Dmitry Gorenburg, an expert at the Centre for Naval Analyses, a think-tank, leaving it “barely functional”. But since the seizure of Crimea Russia has put the fleet on steroids, adding half a dozen new submarines, three frigates and a slew of missile-toting boats.
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