Translated by Ollie Richardson

15:40:09
13/08/2017

politnavigator.net

Do not engage in unfounded confidence and underestimate the importance of the news of the construction by Americans of the naval base in Ochakov. In the long-term the US plans to turn all of the Black Sea coast of Ukraine into a base. Americans have an inspiring example — the deployment of the army at the Yavorov training ground in the Lvov region, which is one of the biggest NATO bases outside of the alliance. This was stated by the Ukrainian political scientist Oleg Khavich in an author’s column for “Politnavigator”.

The media noticed, at last, that in the Ochakov area of the Odessa region the construction parts of the US Navy built for the third week, according to the story, “The Center of Operational Management of the Fleet of the Naval Forces of Ukraine”. Work began already on July 25th and are conducted within the framework of the program for rendering military aid (Foreign Military Construction Sales, FMCS). The construction is carried out by the first mobile construction battalion of the US marines (NMCB 1), so-called Seabees.

As the website of the US Navy reports, this is only one of the three objects that the American military personnel on the territory of Ochakov maritime base of the Naval Forces of Ukraine are currently engaged in.

The two other facilities are rooms for maintenance of vessels and checkpoints on the base perimeter. On the Internet there is already a joke that the checkpoints are intended to protect the de facto US military base from the Ukrainian military — after all, in the constructed “operational center of the Naval Forces of Ukraine” there will be officers of the US Navy, the task of who will be staff logistic work connected with presence in the region of the American fighting ships.

And the American military arrived with serious intentions and for a long time, trying to buy the sympathy of the local population. Like they did in Yavorov, they repaired one of the local schools, built a football field and a basketball court for it — “in gratitude for the fact that the city plays host to military exercises”.

Certain analysts suggested that it is precisely Ochakov that will become the main base of the US Naval Forces on the Black Sea coast — they say that they threaten to settle in Crimea. Actually, the proximity of the bases of the Black Sea fleet to Russia speaks rather in favor of a sabotage and reconnaissance center, but after all the military expansion of the Americans won’t be limited to Ochakov, which is only a “tester”, where they check the reaction of the population of the South of Ukraine to such activity.

It is sufficient enough to look at the map of the Black Sea coast of this country to understand the grand scale of the plans of strategists in the Pentagon.

Number 1 shows the object in Ochakov, and number 2 is the water area of the Odessa port plant, which throughout the past several years has been carried by the West and its puppets in Kiev to bankruptcy. There are rumours that a full-scale base of the US Navy will be created here, cast your mind back to 2014 — it was exactly what was guaranteed to the Americans by Igor Kolomoisky, and for non-fulfilment of this promise his pet (Palytsia) was removed from the post of the governor of the Odessa region.

Number 3 shows the multipurpose training ground “Shiroky Lan” (one of the biggest in Europe, its area is more than 29,000 hectares). It allows to stage tactical maneuvers with combat firing of mechanized, tank, airmobile forces (up to brigade, inclusive) with the use of artillery, antiaircraft defense, tactical aviation, and fire support helicopters, fighting firing practice from tanks (BMP, an armored personnel carrier), artillery, antiaircraft defense, and small arms of all systems and types.

The training ground is located 40 km from the city of Nikolaev, 50 km from the airport of Nikolaev, and 45 km from the military airfield of Kulbakino, but the most important thing — it is near the Dnieper, where a base can be built for the corresponding category of sea vessels — like the same “Gurza” armoured boats, which are being sold to the Ukrainian fleet by the shipbuilding plant of Poroshenko. However, such plans haven’t been sounded yet, but before the end of the year on the training ground a brigade camp must be constructed, for which 370 million hryvnias (nearly 15 million dollars) were allocated.

Number 4 shows the training ground located in a unique natural object — the only desert in Europe “Oleshky Sands”, which technically is a national natural park. Since October, 2015, a considerable part of the natural park again, like during the Soviet period, became a training ground for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, drills with the use of heavy artillery are regularly staged there. Considering the desert landscape and the repeatedly-stated readiness of the Kiev authorities to send its military to help western “peacekeepers” in the hot regions of the world, and the appearance here of American “instructors” with experience of war in the Middle East – it is only a matter of time.

Another Black Sea reserve, which is actually scheduled for destruction for the sake of the training ground — “Tuzlovskiye Limany” in the Odessa region. The training ground (the place is shown as number 5) is equipped in the Tatarbunary region, on the coast of the Alibey, Burnas, and Karachaus lagoons, the testing of new samples of arms – from unmanned aerial vehicles to anti-aircraft missiles – will be carried out. The planned area of the object is 2570 hectares.

The Kiev authorities constantly repeat that no foreign military bases on the territory of Ukraine exist — they say that it is forbidden by the Constitution of the country. However the technology for circumventing this norm has long been established in the course of the transformation of the Yavorov training ground (its area is more than 36,000 hectares) into one of the biggest NATO bases outside the alliance.

Every year Poroshenko applies to the Verkhovna Rada for permission for the “temporary” stay of foreign armed forces on the training ground within the framework of “international military exercises”, which continue … 365 days a year.

On the training ground some thousands of US military personnel (the main contingent), Canada, Great Britain, and Poland, with armored machinery and helicopters are constantly deployed.

Most likely, the issue of placing US military bases in Ochakov and at other points of the Black Sea coast of Ukraine will be resolved in this way.

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