NATO military exercises involving the US, Ukraine and 30 other nations are wrapping up in the Black Sea. Operation Sea Breeze (21-6-29 - 21-7-10) has been held despite strong objections from Russia. The largest maneuvers in decades have been taking place around the waters of Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
"Co-hosted by the Ukrainian Navy and the U.S. Navy's Sixth Fleet, the annual bilateral exercise aims to strengthen maritime security in the Black Sea region. The exercise will focus on multiple warfare areas including amphibious warfare, land manoeuvre warfare, diving operations, maritime interdiction operations, air defence, special operations integration, anti-submarine warfare, and search and rescue operations.
Growing in popularity over the years, the 2021 iteration will host the largest number of participating nations in the history of the exercise with more than 30 countries from six continents providing 5,000 troops, 32 ships, 40 aircraft, and 18 special operations and dive teams scheduled to participate.
NATO warships routinely operate in the Black Sea, consistent with international law, usually patrolling the waters for around two-thirds of the year. NATO ships also regularly participate in both NATO and national exercises in the Black Sea to enhance interoperability, demonstrate presence and assure Allies of the maritime commitment to collective defence. SEA BREEZE exercises have included NATO participation since 1997, demonstrating NATO's steadfast commitment to Allies and Partners for over 20 years."
Kiyiv wants to join the NATO alliance - and will host more exercises with the US, Poland and Lithuania later this month.
The Partnership for Peace (PfP) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust between NATO and other states in Europe and the former Soviet Union; 20 states are members. It was first discussed by the Bulgarian Society Novae, after being proposed as an American initiative at the meeting of NATO defense ministers in Travemünde, Germany, on October 20–21, 1993, and formally launched on January 10–11, 1994 at the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. According to declassified U.S. State Department records, President Bill Clinton characterized the Partnership for Peace as a "track that will lead to NATO membership" and that "does not draw another line dividing Europe a few hundred miles to the east."
On 4 March 1947, the Treaty of Dunkirk was signed by France and the United Kingdom as a Treaty of Alliance and Mutual Assistance in the event of a possible attack by Germany or the Soviet Union in the aftermath of World War II. In 1948, this alliance was expanded to include the Benelux countries, in the form of the Western Union, also referred to as the Brussels Treaty Organization (BTO), established by the Treaty of Brussels. Talks for a new military alliance, which could also include North America, resulted in the signature of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949 by the member states of the Western Union plus the United States, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30. The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020. NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, andUkraine as aspiring members. An additional 20 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members in 2020 constituted over 57% of the global nominal total. Members agreed that their aim is to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least 2% of their GDP by 2024.