The Russo-Ukrainian War continues to slog toward its third year, with Russia pushing into territories in the eastern part of the country, but the U.S. and Ukrainian navies are already preparing for the aftermath once the war ends.
Navies from Ukraine, the United States and the United Kingdom gathered in Glasglow, Scotland, in late June and early July for the 2024 iteration of Sea Breeze. This year’s two-part exercise focused on mine countermeasures and featured an at-sea and shore phase exercise focused on mine countermeasures.
The U.S. participated in the shore part, while Ukraine forces operated in the water. Vessels from Standing NATO Mine Countermeasure Group One also participated, Capt. Geoffrey Townsend, the commodore of Task Force 68, told USNI News. The U.S. and the NATO group focused on observing the Ukraine’s ability to perform mine countermeasures.
“This is a new capability for them that they’re developing, and they’re trying to get both their tactical units and their headquarters element to a NATO standard,” Townsend said. “And so they showed a lot of capability, a lot of promise.”
Russia and Ukraine have both places mines in the Black Sea. There are no plans for Ukraine to remove any mines while the war is ongoing, Townsend said, adding that they are part of the Ukrainian defense.
It takes a long time to remove mines, Townsend noted.
While in Glasglow, the U.S. took on a planning role, helping to figure out how Ukraine could best use mine countermeasure vessels and uncrewed underwater vessels, as well as divers, he said.
One of the challenges for Ukraine is that practice only happens outside of its territorial waters. So even though Ukrainian forces practiced in the waters near Glasglow, those waters are different than those in the Black Sea, Townsend said.
“It takes years to practice, and unfortunately, right now, they’re only getting to practice outside of their territory waters, just due to safety, and so they’re not getting the ability to practice as much as they’d like to. But they’re effective at using them,” he said.
