Meanwhile, tensions between Ukraine and Russia in the Azov Sea, just north of the Black Sea, have reached an impasse.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014, the US has given Kyiv more than $1 billion worth of military assistance in defensive capabilities.

Commenting on the security situation in the region, the Ukrainian mission to the EU told EURACTIV it expects “the international community to respond practically to the Russian aggression in Crimea and Azov region by extending military presence in the Black Sea region with more frequent entering the Ukrainian seaports and an extended provision to Ukraine of  military goods and defensive weaponry”.

“When it comes to international law, we ask the EU to adopt a declaration calling on Russia to ensure the freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov and Black Sea, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Seas,” the representation added.

Kyiv also calls for further sanctions against Russian Azov ports, vessels entering Crimean ports, as well as companies “exploiting the illegal bridge through the Kerch straight”. 

Read the whole article as of March 6, 2019: https://www.euractiv.com/section/defence-and-security/news/us-and-nato-step-up-presence-in-increasingly-tense-black-sea-region/?fbclid=IwAR0iMGbqSQG5Ok327eekw4cxm7dPSWu_gaWEghZO6t4zunfMSOh3viX-weE

Euractiv,