SEVASTOPOL. Sept 17 (Interfax-AVN) - The Peace Fairway 2001 joint exercise of the Ukrainian Navy and Russian Black Sea Fleet started in the north-western part of the sea on Monday, a spokesman for the fleet headquarters told Interfax-Military News Agency.
The opening ceremony involved the fleet's commander, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, Ukrainian Navy Commander Mikhail Yezhel, head of the Sevastopol city administration Leonid Zhunko and chairman of the Sevastopol city legislature Valery Parkhmenko.
Russia and Ukraine had had two similar exercises before since 1997. The current exercise takes place in accordance with the co-operation plan of Defence Ministries for 2001. It will end on September 28 and envisages four stages. The first one will take place from Monday to Wednesday and feature the preparation and planning of a peacekeeping operation, the second will happen on September 19 to 29 and feature deployment of forces and joint tactical training with missile and artillery launches, the third stage will happen on September 26 to 27 and include landing of peacekeepers on a rough coast, while during the fourth one the forces will return to their permanent stationing areas on September 27 to 28.
The exercise is devoted tor practising a peacekeeping operation aimed at establishment of a security regime in a conflict zone. It will happen not only in the sea but also at the naval landing proving range near the Opuk mountain at the Kerch Peninsula and at the Dialoma tactical trainer. Among the training and research aims of the exercise are, in particular, practising of single approaches to forms and methods of holding a peacekeeping operation, actions of peacekeeping troops headquarters in planning the operation and controlling forces during its conduction, operations of marine forces during the landing on a rough coast, establishment of a security zone during general practicing at training sites, operations on universal defence of vessels on the move, tactical maneuvering, aviation actions in accomplishing peacekeeping operation tasks.
The exercise is supervised by Yezhel while Vice Admiral Alexander Tatarinov, chief-of-staff of the Black Sea Fleet, is appointed his deputy. The training involves officers of subdepartments, departments and services of the Ukrainian Navy and Black Sea Fleet headquarters, combat vessel units, aviation and marine units of both fleets comprising seven combat vessels, two rescue towboats, four planes and four helicopters, some 260 marines. The Ukrainian Navy is represented by the Getman Sagaidachny flagship, a small missile ship and a minesweeper while the Russian Black Sea Fleet is represented by the Pytlivy guard ship, a large landing ship, a small missile ship and a naval minesweeper.
The search and rescue services of both fleets will hold an operation on saving a vessel in distress during the exercise.