DISINFO: Sea Breeze war games destabilises situation near Russian border
SUMMARY
The first task of NATO’s Sea Breeze military exercises will be destabilisation on the perimeter of the Russian border. The second one will be to bring different weapons and military equipment to the territory of Ukraine and leave them there.
RESPONSE
This is a recurring disinformation narrative from pro-Kremlin media outlets, claiming that NATO’s Sea Breeze military exercises pose a threat to Russia and that the West is using Ukraine to achieve this end.
In reality, the Sea Breeze maritime drills are of a purely defensive nature. Ukraine seeks to increase its defence capabilities by taking part in them. What has been really threatening stability in the region is Russia’s recent military build-up along Ukraine’s eastern and southern border. Since its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, Russia has been continually militarising the Ukrainian peninsula.
This year’s Sea Breeze exercises are taking place from June 28 to July 10 2021 in the Black Sea region. They have the largest number of participating nations in the exercises’ history with 32 countries from six continents providing 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 aircraft, and 18 special operations and dive teams.
NATO is not smuggling military equipment to Ukraine under the guise of these war games. The fact that NATO commanders visit Kyiv does not mean that weapons or other military equipment are being smuggled into Ukraine or that the West coerces Ukraine into confrontation with Russia. Ukraine receives Western military aid legally and openly. Earlier this year, the United States announced a military aid package to Ukraine worth $125 million. Unlike Ukraine’s openness in its military transactions with foreign countries, Russia clandestinely provides its proxies in Donbas with military aid. Although Russia denies it, there is plenty of documented evidence to this effect.
Relations between NATO and Ukraine date back to the early 1990s and have since developed into one of the most substantial of NATO’s partnerships. Since 2014, in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, cooperation has been intensified in critical areas. The alliance firmly believes that a sovereign, independent and stable Ukraine, firmly committed to democracy and the rule of law, is key to Euro-Atlantic security.
The Brussel Summit Communique, presented after the meeting of NATO heads in Belgium on 14 June 2021, reaffirmed, that "NATO does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia. Decisions we have taken are fully consistent with our international commitments, and therefore cannot be regarded by anyone as contradicting the NATO-Russia Founding Act."
See more narratives about NATO’s allegedly provocative behaviour in relations with Russia.