Tag Archives: Black Sea

NATO’s huge Romanian base transformation is underway

Romanian-airfield-to-NATO-base

Important Takeaways:

  • The Romanian government has begun working to greatly expand Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in the southeast end of the country near the Black Sea. Once complete, the giant NATO base will sprawl over an area twice the size of the U.S. Air Force’s Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The plan to dramatically expand the installation underscores NATO member Romania’s strategic position, which has only been magnified since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine.
  • Overall, the initiative will cost some €2.5 billion (just over $2.7 billion at current conversion rates), paid for by the Romanian government, with work spread out over the next 20 years
  • According to Euro News Romania, the base will be able to accommodate 10,000 personnel from Romanian and NATO forces combined, as well as their dependents.
  • “We are also designing the necessary infrastructure to be able to host and support ground capabilities, for special operations or any other type of military capability which is necessary to provide a response to the [future] security context”

Read the original article by clicking here.

Ukraine targeting Russian vessels in the Black Sea and ramping up attacks inside Russia

Russian-Black-Sea-Warships

Important Takeaways:

  • Ukraine is apparently heightening attacks inside Russia and on targets in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
  • In its Sunday assessment of the war, the ISW wrote about reports of Kyiv’s increased attacks, which includes the frequent strikes on Crimea as well as other Moscow-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine.
  • According to the ISW report, Ukrainian partisans attacked a Russian military headquarters in the occupied city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine on Saturday. The ISW said the Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported at least three Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and Rosgvardia officers were killed in the Melitopol attack.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the war with Russia will not end until all occupied land is returned to Kyiv’s control.
  • Kyiv’s targeting of Crimea has relied on cruise missile and drone attacks, and has wounded a significant part of Russia’s naval fleet stationed near the peninsula
  • Since February 2022, Ukraine has hit at least 17 Russian vessels in its quest to neutralize Moscow’s naval fleet

Read the original article by clicking here.

Tensions rise as Moscow says Ukrainian ports “will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo”

US Navy seized weapons

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Russia and Ukraine just turned much of the Black Sea into a dangerous no man’s land
  • On Thursday, Moscow’s defense ministry declared that “all vessels sailing in the waters of the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports will be regarded as potential carriers of military cargo,” a warning that has sent wheat prices rising.
  • “Accordingly, the countries of such vessels will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side Kyiv, the defense ministry said in a Wednesday statement. It added that several pockets of international water are “declared temporarily dangerous for navigation,” and vessels have been warned that there are no longer safety guarantees.
  • The move from both sides comes shortly after Russia killed the crucial Black Sea grain deal, a United Nations-brokered agreement that allowed Ukraine to export food and fertilizer from several key ports to avoid a global food crisis. The Kremlin then went much further, warning it may attack any vessels it believes are bound for Ukraine, effectively turning the Black Sea into a no man’s land.
  • [On the other side] Ukraine, however, went on to issue its own measures in response to Moscow’s initial escalation. Kyiv’s defense ministry said that beginning on Friday, any vessels heading to ports in mainland Russia and in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine — like in Crimea or along the Sea of Azov — may likewise be viewed as transporters of military cargo.

Read the original article by clicking here.

After US drone was downed over Black Sea Russia warns Washington to stay out

Ryabkov warns Biden

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • ‘Don’t test us!’ Russia issues chilling warning to US as Black Sea tension boils
  • Russia has issued a new warning as Washington continues to fly drones over the Black Sea, with tension between the nations surging. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the US that Russia will retaliate with “countermeasures” if it continues to fly surveillance drones over the international waters.
  • It comes after two Russian fighter jet pilots downed an unmanned MQ-9 Reaper drone on March 14.
  • Ryabkov is adamant the US drone flew “in a zone where we introduced a special regime associated with conducting military exercises”, warning Washington not to try this again.
  • He added: “No American drones – reconnaissance, strike, strategic, whatever – can shake our determination.”
  • This also comes after a set of US nuclear bombers took part in a mission with NATO allies in a mission over Europe on Wednesday.
  • The American B-52 planes were joined by jets from Spain, Italy and Romania in another major show of force against Russia.

Read the original article by clicking here.

US Destroyer enters Black Sea for first time since the start of the war

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • US warship operates in Black Sea in first instance since Russian invasion of Ukraine
  • A United States warship, a Destroyer named USS Nitze, was seen to be operating in the Black Sea. This is the closest a US warship has been to Russia since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.
  • The ship entered the region and visited Turkey on February 3rd, which was confirmed on the Twitter account of the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet.
  • The US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake made no connection between the ship’s presence and the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. Rather, Flake described the visit as an opportunity to strengthen a NATO relationship.
  • Notably, The United States has recently issued warnings to Turkey about Turkish exports to Russia. The exports include chemicals, microchips and other products that can be used in Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
  • Turkey has also been blocking Finland and Sweden from joining NATO, which some have said would benefit Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Odessa has become a symbolic target cutting Ukraine from access to the sea and supply lines

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Russia pummels port of Odesa in attempt to disrupt supplies
  • Ukraine said Tuesday that Russian forces fired seven missiles at Odesa a day earlier, hitting a shopping center and a warehouse in the country’s largest port. One person was killed and five wounded, the military said.
  • Ukraine alleged at least some of the munitions used dated to the Soviet era, making them unreliable in targeting. Ukrainian, British and U.S. officials say Russia is rapidly using up its stock of precision weapons, raising the risk of more imprecise rockets being used as the conflict grinds on.
  • One general has suggested Moscow’s aims also include cutting Ukraine’s maritime access to both the Black and Azov seas.
  • That would also give it a swath of territory linking Russia to both the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014, and Transnistria, a pro-Moscow region of Moldova.
  • Odesa is also a major gateway for grain shipments, and its blockade by Russia already threatens global food supplies. Beyond that, the city is a cultural jewel, dear to Ukrainians and Russians alike, and targeting it carries symbolic significance

Read the original article by clicking here.

Another setback for Russia as its Flagship sinks to the ocean floor

Revelations 6:3-4 “when he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 And out came another horse, bright red. Its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people should slay one another, and he was given a great sword.

Important Takeaways:

  • Russia’s damaged Black Sea flagship sinks in latest setback
  • The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a guided-missile cruiser that became a potent target of Ukrainian defiance in the opening days of the war, sank Thursday after it was heavily damaged in the latest setback for Moscow’s invasion.
  • Ukrainian officials said their forces hit the vessel with missiles, while Russia acknowledged a fire aboard the Moskva but no attack.
  • In his nightly video address to the nation, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded to the sinking as he told Ukrainians they should be proud of having survived 50 days under attack when the Russians “gave us a maximum of five.”

Read the original article by clicking here.

Russian exercise in Black Sea has Ukrainian officials concerned

Zechariah 12:3 “ And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.

Important Takeaways:

  • Russia begins military exercises in Black Sea and Belarus, stoking fears of preparations for an attack on Ukraine
  • Russian forces on Thursday began 10 days of military exercises with Belarus, and warships arrived at a strategic port on the Black Sea, as Western diplomats seek to avert what they fear could be an invasion after preparations cloaked as training.
  • Ukrainian officials blasted the maneuvers, calling them an “unprecedented” action that makes navigation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov virtually impossible.
  • The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as Russia’s decision to “block” parts of those seas and the Kerch Strait “under the pretext of holding regular naval exercises.”
  • Top Russian military commanders flew into Belarus on Wednesday for the maneuvers, which involve thousands of troops and sophisticated weapons systems including S-400 surface-to-air missiles, Pantsir air defense systems and Su-35 fighter jets.
  • Moscow’s recent military maneuverings are nudging some countries that Russian President Vladimir Putin considers part of Russia’s sphere of influence further toward the West. Lithuania’s president on Wednesday said Vilnius would request that Washington station troops in the Baltic country permanently to help boost security.

Read the original article by clicking here.

Flash floods sweep through northern Turkey in new natural disaster

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Seventeen people were killed in flash floods in Turkey’s Black Sea region on Thursday that sent water and debris cascading through streets, damaged bridges and ripped up roads in the second natural disaster to strike the country this month.

The floodwaters brought chaos to northern provinces just as authorities were declaring that some of the wildfires that had raged through southern coastal regions for two weeks had been brought under control.

The floods and the fires, which killed eight people and devastated tens of thousands of hectares of forest, struck in the same week that a U.N. panel said global warming is dangerously close to spiraling out of control.

Fifteen people were killed in the floods in Kastamonu province and two people died in Sinop, authorities said, adding that search and rescue operations were continuing.

More than 1,400 people were evacuated from the areas affected, some with the help of helicopters and boats, and about 740 people were being housed in student dormitories, the Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate (AFAD) said.

Helicopters lowered coast guard personnel onto the roofs of buildings to rescue people who were stranded as flood water swept through the streets, footage shared by the Interior Ministry showed.

The deluge damaged power infrastructure, leaving about 330 villages without electricity. Five bridges had collapsed and many others were damaged, leading to road closures, AFAD added. Parts of the roads were also swept away.

Television footage showed the floods dragging dozens of cars and heaps of debris along the streets. The heavy rainfall in the region was expected to ease on Thursday evening, AFAD said.

Authorities said that 299 forest fires which had burnt across southwestern provinces for the last two weeks had been brought under control.

President Tayyip Erdogan said they were the worst fires Turkey had faced in its history. Thousands of Turks and tourists were evacuated as the flames spread through Aegean and Mediterranean coastal regions, fanned by hot, dry weather and strong winds.

(Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun and Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Dominic Evans, Angus MacSwan and Sonya Hepinstall)

Romanian Black Sea refinery blast kills one, injures five

By Radu-Sorin Marinas

BUCHAREST (Reuters) – A blast and fire on Friday at Romania’s biggest crude oil refinery killed one person and injured five others, authorities and the company which runs the Petromidia plant on the Black Sea said.

Video footage from a nearby beach in the coastal resort of Mamaia showed black smoke rising from the area next to the refinery and some tourists reported hearing a loud bang.

Rompetrol Rafinare, part of KMG International Group, said the explosion was inside the diesel hydrotreating unit, and that processes had been halted safely.

At 1615 GMT it said the fire had been completely put out, the incident “was neutralized successfully” and Rompetrol would continue to provide fuels for its stations in Romania and the Black Sea region.

“Five of our colleagues are in medical care at Constanta County Hospital, and we are sorry to inform you that a person has been identified as deceased,” its statement added.

The company declined to comment on the likely financial damage but said an assessment of the impact on technological processes will be performed to provide a clear picture and predictability in terms of restarting the refinery facilities.

Petromidia is based on the shores of the Black Sea in Navodari, 20 km (12.5 miles) north of the country’s biggest port, Constanta.

It said it processed a total of 1.26 million tonnes of raw materials in the first quarter of this year, a similar level to a year before, and had been running at 84% capacity.

Rompetrol closed 1.96% down at 0.05 lei.

(Editing by Jane Merriman, Jan Harvey, Alexander Smith and Philippa Fletcher)