Russia's Moskva Missile Cruiser Sets Off To Its Naval Base In Ukraine

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- The flagship of the Black Sea fleet, the Moskva missile cruiser, has set off from the port of Vladivostok in Russia's Far East to its home port in Ukraine's Sevastopol, a Navy spokesman said on Wednesday.
The Moskva missile cruiser was participating in Russia's Vostok 2010 military drills jointly with the flagship of the Northern Fleet, the Pyotr Veliky nuclear-powered guided-missile cruiser, and the flagship of the Pacific Fleet, the Varyag guided-missile cruiser.

"After a short rest in Vladivostok, the Moskva set off for the Black Sea to its home base in the port of Sevastopol. It will have to pass across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans," the spokesman said.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Ukraine's port of Sevastopol under a lease agreement. Moscow and Kiev signed earlier in the year a deal extending the lease on the fleet's base in Sevastopol for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017.

Vostok-2010 exercises in Siberia and the country's Far East started on June 29 and ended on July 8. They involved 20,000 troops, up to 2,500 pieces of military hardware, 70 warplanes and 30 warships.

During the exercises, warships of the three Russian fleets conducted live firing at naval and aerial drones and practiced combat interoperability and repelling simulated attacks by hostile submarines and aircraft.

Russia holds Vostok strategic command-and-staff drills every two years.

Russian Black Sea Fleet Ship Took Part In Ukrainian Navy Parade

MOSCOW, Russia -- For the first time in five years, a Russian warship took part in a naval parade to mark Ukraine's Navy Day on Sunday, a Black Sea Fleet spokesman informed.
This year, Russia dispatched Smetlivy, a Kashin class guided missile destroyer, to participate in the parade in Sevastopol following an invitation from Ukraine.

In 2005, the administration of then Ukrainian president Viktor Yushchenko barred joint parades with Russian ships. However, as relations between Moscow and Kiev improved under new president Viktor Yanukovych, the Black Sea fleet has received an invitation to participate in this year's parade.

Russia, in return, invited the Ukrainian Navy to take part in the Russian Navy Day celebrations, to be held in Sevastopol on July 25.

"According to a decision made by Ukraine's naval command, [Ukraine's] Hetman Sahaydachniy frigate will take part," Capt. 1st Rank Vyacheslav Trukhachev said.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet has its main base in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine recently signed an agreement extending the lease on the Sevastopol base for 25 years after the current lease expires in 2017.

The Black Sea Fleet: Divided And Fading

MOSCOW, Russia -- On June 9, 1995, in Sochi Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on basing Russia's Black Sea Fleet and Ukraine's naval forces in Sevastopol. The agreement marked a watershed in the fleet's history.
The dispute over the fleet began on April 5, 1992 when Ukraine's President Leonid Kravchuk signed a decree on urgent measures to build up the Ukrainian armed forces.

The decree put the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet under Kiev's control, and all its forces deployed on Ukrainian territory (practically the entire fleet) were to become Ukraine's naval forces. Kiev had no right to make such a decision.

Much diplomatic haggling followed, with Kiev trying to persuade the sailors to swear an oath to Ukraine, make the fleet Ukrainian and confront Moscow with this fact.

On April 15, 1994, Russia and Ukraine signed an agreement on the gradual resolution of the issue. Russia was to get 80% to 85% of all ships and vessels of the fleet. At the same time, Russian diplomats realized the agreement would be tied in with a political treaty between Russia and Ukraine.

The Ukrainian side, however, did not want the agreement to be linked to any such political treaty and the issue remained unresolved.

Negotiations had to be re-started. On June 9, 1995 in Sochi, the two countries signed an agreement on separate bases for Russia's Black Sea Fleet and Ukraine's naval forces; Sevastopol was to be the Russian fleet's main base.

Property ownership issues were resolved on the basis of an earlier agreement dividing all warehouses fifty-fifty. Russia received 81.7% of all ships and vessels; Ukraine, 18.3%.

The division of the fleet, coupled with heavy spending cuts by comparison with Soviet times, led to a deteriorating balance of forces in the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.

In 1991, the Soviet Black Sea Fleet numbered 100,000 personnel and 60,000 factory and office workers and had 835 vessels and ships of practically every class.

The current strength of the fleet is now down to 50 warships and launches, in addition to a few dozen auxiliary vessels. Shore-based aviation and coastal defenses were also greatly reduced.

The fleet, once a dominant force in the Black Sea and a rival to NATO in the Mediterranean, is now outnumbered by Turkey's Black Sea naval forces (although it surpasses the fleets of all the other Black Sea countries combined) which makes only sporadic appearances in the Mediterranean.

Meanwhile the situation on Russia's southern borders has become more restive. In 2008, the fleet had to fulfill a number of missions during the five-day war with Georgia.

Nor did Ukraine's naval forces profit from the division. Most were soon written off, while the rest are not battle-worthy.

Russia needs billions of dollars in allocations to restore the Black Sea Fleet's combat potential. With the fleet aging and many of the Soviet-built vessels facing early retirement, there is a clear need for significant supplies of ships and other equipment - from trucks to radars and aircraft.

Igor Korotchenko, a military expert and a member of the Defense Ministry's Public Council, believes that the Black Sea Fleet needs 50 new ships in the next 10 years.

But these requirements are now unlikely to be met. The state armament program for 2010-2020 puts renewing the fleet as its last priority. What will be left of it in 15 years time is hard to tell.

Ukraine extends Russia's Black Sea Fleet lease

Kiev and Moscow have agreed to extend the lease allowing Russia's Black Sea Fleet to be stationed in Ukraine by 25 years in return for cheaper gas.

The deal was signed by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

The lease of Russia's naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea, had been due to expire in 2017.

It was not immediately clear if the extension would be effective from now or from 2017.

Mr Yanukovych's pro-Western predecessor, Viktor Yushchenko, had opposed any extension of the lease.

Mr Yushchenko, who was ousted in presidential elections earlier this year, had wanted Ukraine to join Nato - a move strongly opposed by the Kremlin.

Mr Yanukovych and Mr Medvedev signed the agreement after talks in Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv.

Mr Yanukovych, who had pledged to deal with all issues causing tensions between Kiev and Moscow during the Yushchenko administration, said the deal was agreed because "it was important for our Russian colleagues and friends".

He said that the move would have a positive impact for stability in the Black Sea region and Europe.

The deal also has a clause allowing the lease to be extended for a further five years.

In return, Russia agreed to grant Ukraine a discount on imports of Russian gas.

The complicated formula would give Ukraine a discount of $100 for every 1,000 cubic metres of gas providing the benchmark rate was above $330 or a discount of 30% if the rate was lower than that.

Ukraine currently pays $305 per 1,000 cubic metres.

In the past few years, tensions between Moscow and Kiev have led Gazprom, the Russian state-owned energy giant, to switch off the taps on a number of occasions, affecting a number of European countries.

Europe gets a quarter of its gas from Russia, and most of that arrives via an extensive network of pipelines running through Ukraine.

March images of the city of Sevastopol