The mine-countermeasure group of the Bulgarian and Romanian Navies has started sweeping the waters of the Black Sea near the Bulgarian coast along the route of the new Ukrainian maritime corridor. This was announced by the head of the project at the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies, Andrii Klymenko.
According to him, our Black Sea neighbors have demonstrated an incredibly tight timeline from the decision to create the mine-countermeasure group to the commencement of practical work.
The decision was made on October 12, 2023, during the latest Ramstein, and the ships were already at sea on October 16, 2023. There are 7 ships in total, 1 Romanian and 6 Bulgarian.
To remind, since Russia withdrew from the grain deal, it has carried out 17 large-scale attacks, leading to a 40% reduction in the export potential of ports and continues to pose threats to navigation in the Black Sea.
Among the 5 ships in the mine-trawl group near the coast of Bulgaria, the Monitoring Group of the "Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies" and BlackSeaNews have identified 5:
- Minesweeper "Tsibar" - Bulgarian Navy,
- Frigate "Drazki" - Bulgarian Navy,
- Patrol ship "Smeli" - Bulgarian Navy,
- Frigate "Verni" - Bulgarian Navy,
- Minesweeper "Slt. Alexandru Axente" - Romanian Navy.
