SEVASTOPOL. May 23 (Interfax-AVN) - The Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy are starting the Fairway of Peace naval exercises. The exercises will take place in Sevastopol and coastal waters on May 23-27.
"The exercises will simulate an international peacekeeping operation in a crisis zone. The ships will practice all types of defense in shipping and anchoring in an unprotected location; there will be landing of marines and paratroopers, coastal operations and air support," a source in the Russian Black Sea Fleet Staff told Interfax-AVN.
Black Sea Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Vladimir Korolyov supervises Fairway of Peace 2011. Ukrainian Navy First Deputy Commander Vice Admiral Serhiy Yelyseyev is second in command. The Russian Black Sea Fleet's Vice Admiral Sergei Menyailo is the commander of naval maneuvering and landing operations.
It was planned initially that Defense Ministers Mykhaylo Yezhel and Anatoly Serdyukov would watch the drill at some phase.
The Russian Black Sea Fleet is represented by the Nikolai Filchenkov large landing ship, the Muromets small anti-sub ship, the Kovrovets mine sweeper, the Mirazh small missile carrying ship and the VM-125 diver support vessel. There is also a marine company with 15 vehicles, two frontline bombers Sukhoi Su-24 and Antonov An-26 and a rescue helicopter Kamov Ka-27PS.
The Ukrainian Navy is represented by the Kostyantyn Olshansky large landing ship, the Zaporizhzhya submarine, the Ternopol and Pridniprovye corvettes, the Cherkassy mine sweeper, five auxiliary vessels, 40 armored and specialized vehicles, as well as one Antonov An-26, two Beriyev Be-12 hydroplanes, Kamov Ka-27 and Ka-27PS helicopters and two Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets.
The first joint Russian-Ukrainian drill, Fairway of Peace, took place in 1997.