The “Christian Science Monitor reports”:http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/1025/With-Ukraine-s-blessing-Russia-to-beef-up-its-Black-Sea-Fleet that:
bq. In a quiet announcement Monday, Moscow revealed that – with Ukrainian consent – it will “upgrade” its Black Sea fleet over the next decade with at least 18 new warships, including six new frigates, six submarines, two giant troop-landing ships, and new squadrons of naval aircraft.
For readers interested in more information on Russia’s Black Sea fleet and how it fits into the broader picture of Russian-Ukrainian relations, I want to recommend two of the policy memos presented at last week’s “PONARS conference”:http://ponarseurasia.org/blog/conference/ at George Washington University’s “Elliot School of International Affairs”:http://elliott.gwu.edu/. “In one”:http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/pepm_119.pdf, Volodymyr Dubovyk of the Odessa National University in Ukraine presents some background on the “Kharkiv Agreement”:http://www.kyivpost.com/news/opinion/editorial/detail/64760/ which gives Russia the right to continue to base its Black Sea fleet in Ukraine through 2042 in return for a discount on Russian natural gas, as well as placing this in the larger context of Russian-Ukrainian relations since the start of the administration of Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych earlier this year. “In the other”:http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/pepm_125.pdf, “Dmitry Gorenburg”:http://russiamil.wordpress.com/ of CNA Strategic Studies concisely summarizes what we now know about Russia’s plan for modernizing its armed forces over the next decade, including how the Black Sea fleet upgrade announced today fits into this larger plan.
Click to download:
“Dubovyk Memo”:http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/pepm_119.pdf
“Guorenburg Memo”:http://www.gwu.edu/~ieresgwu/assets/docs/pepm_125.pdf