Ukrainian and NATO Divers Practice Mine Detection in Sea Breeze Drills

Sea Breeze exercises were held in Bulgaria, with representatives of the Armed Forces of Ukraine taking part.

ArmiyaInform reported on this.

Diving teams from the countries participating in Sea Breeze showcased their skills and had the opportunity to learn from the unique experience of Ukrainian divers.

It is reported that the participants practiced in diving, searching for mine-like objects and destroying them with the help of modern underwater drones or divers for two weeks.

The training also included an assessment of Ukrainian specialists, which is a crucial step toward achieving interoperability with NATO member states.

Once a sufficient level of interoperability is reached, the Ukrainian Navy will be positioned to conduct joint missions with units of NATO member states.

In June, Militarnyi reported that new Ukrainian Sandown-class minehunters, which are temporarily based at the Portsmouth naval base in the UK, were involved in the Sea Breeze maneuvers.

This year’s Sea Breeze exercise was joined by 13 participating countries, including, in addition to Ukraine and the United States as organizers, Bulgaria, Sweden, Estonia, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Georgia, Greece, Romania, Poland, Japan, and the United Kingdom as hosts.

Marine demining is an important task in the Black Sea region. Recently, it was reported that the Ukrainian Navy discovered and destroyed a sea mine on the coast of Odesa region.

The mine was neutralized with a machine gun fire, following all safety protocols and ensuring the isolation of the explosion site.

As a result of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, the Black Sea has become one of the most heavily mined seas.

Sea mines impede civilian navigation and pose a danger to civilians.