Russia Kicks Off Massive 30+ Ship Drill in Black Sea to Protect Crimea

The drills are part of a larger series of war games announced by the Russian Navy in January across multiple theatres and involving over 140 warships.

Over thirty ships from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have left their home ports in Sevastopol and Novorossiysk for drills in the defence of Crimea, the press service of the Southern Military District has announced.

“The purpose of the exercises is to defend the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, the bases of the forces of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as objects of the country’s economic sector, maritime communications and areas of maritime economic activity from possible military threat of a conditional enemy,” the military said in a statement.

The warships involved in the drills include frigates, patrol and small missile ships, landing craft and small anti-submarine warfare ships, as well as demining vessels. Coastal defence troops and the Fleet’s naval aviation are also taking part, with drilling expected to include artillery fire and attacks on simulated targets at sea, on the coast and in the air.

The exercises are part of a broader series of exercises being held in the winter months commanded by Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Nikolai Evmenov and involving over 140 warships and support vessels, over 60 aircraft, one thousand units of military equipment and 10,000 personnel.