The final planning conference for the Ukrainian-American exercises Sea Breeze-2021 ended in Odessa on May 13, the public relations service of the Command of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

The conference, together with Ukraine, was attended by 16 member states and partners of the North Atlantic Alliance. This year, for the first time, representatives of Senegal and Tunisia took part in the final conference.

The Sea Breeze is another important step and the most important event aimed at obtaining the capabilities of the Navy to operate completely according to NATO standards. This year we are returning to a full-scale training format, in which all components are involved.

Rear Admiral Oleksiy Neyizhpapa, Commander of the Ukrainian Navy

In general, it is planned to attract more than 30 ships, 30 aircraft in the naval and air components and more than 1,400 military personnel from various countries in the land component.

The current Sea Breeze exercise brings together a record number of participating countries, namely 27 countries will take part directly with the involvement of units, ships, aircraft and appropriate officers. Taking into account the "observers", up to 35 countries are planning to take part in the Sea Breeze-2021 exercises.

Last year, due to quarantine restrictions, the Sea Breeze exercises were limited to only the naval phase with the involvement of aviation. All joint activities took place in the Black Sea without personnel contact.

The Sea Breeze exercises have been conducted on the territory of Ukraine since 1997 in accordance with the 1993 Memorandum between the U.S. and Ukrainian Ministries of Defense. The co-organisers of the exercises are Ukraine and the United States.