Russia to deploy new submarines, ships in Black Sea fleet: - TopicsExpress



          

Russia to deploy new submarines, ships in Black Sea fleet: report WIRE SERVICES Reuters Published Tuesday, May. 06 2014, 4:22 AM EDT Last updated Tuesday, May. 06 2014, 6:14 AM EDT Russia will beef up its Black Sea fleet this year with new submarines and warships, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying on Tuesday, following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula. New air defence and marine infantry units would also be deployed at the fleet’s bases, which include Sevastopol in Crimea. More Related to this Story Thirty pro-Russian insurgents killed during fighting around rebel-held city, Ukraine says NATO commander questions readiness for Russian conflict Soldiers killed in Slavyansk as Kiev sends special forces to Odessa “New submarines will join the Black Sea fleet, as well as new-generation surface ships, this year. All this requires much attention from us,” Interfax news agency quoted Shoigu as saying. Shoigu said the fleet would receive funding of 86.7 billion rubles ($2.43-billion) by 2020. Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March sparked the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War. President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia’s action over Crimea was partly a response to NATO expansion in Eastern Europe. Russia also feared Ukraine’s new government would cancel a lease allowing the fleet to stay until 2042. GERMANY WARNS OF WAR, ISSUES TRAVEL WARNING Ukraine is close to war, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier warned in interviews published in four European newspapers on Tuesday. Dozens of people died in the Ukrainian city of Odessa last week when pro-Russian militants clashed with their opponents, and Kiev forces are fighting separatists who have seized control of towns in the east of the country. “The bloody pictures from Odessa have shown us that we are just a few steps away from a military confrontation,” Steinmeier told El Pais, Le Monde, La Repubblica and Gazeta Wyborcza. Steinmeier’s ministry also warned Germans on Tuesday against travelling to Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in March, and reiterated an earlier advisory to avoid eastern areas. “It is urgently advised to avoid travelling to Crimea,” the Foreign Ministry wrote on its website. “In the German government’s view, Crimea belongs to Ukraine but in actuality it is controlled by Russia. Due to the current situation German citizens can no longer be guaranteed consular services.”
Posted on: Tue, 06 May 2014 13:47:08 +0000

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