SEVASTOPOL (Sputnik) — The drills, which began on Monday and will last until July 23, are taking place in the north-western part of the Black Sea in Ukraine's Odessa and Mykolaiv regions, bringing together representatives of 16 states, including France, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and involving 31 ships, 29 aircraft and over 3,000 troops.
"Spacecraft of Russian Aerospace Forces' orbital grouping, aviation, coastal radio-technical equipment of Russian Navy are monitoring the movement of international forces participating in Sea Breeze-2017," a military source said.
The Sea Breeze war games are annual multinational drills that train maritime, air defense, anti-submarine, and search and rescue operations, with the aim to strengthen cooperation among NATO allies so as to ensure stability in the Black Sea region.
In January, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a law allowing foreign troops to be present in the country in 2017 to participate in multinational drills. The document outlines the admission of the US military, military of other NATO member states and the countries participating in the NATO's Partnership for Peace program totaling up to 3,000 personnel with weapons and military equipment, up to six aircraft and helicopters for up to 365 days in January-December 2017.
