Sea Breeze exercise underway in the Black Sea with Ukraine, NATO allies

MOSCOW — About 3,000 troops from 19 countries are taking part in military drills in the Black Sea, an exercise that has raised concerns in Russia.

The 12-day Sea Breeze 2019 exercise, involving Ukraine, the U.S., a dozen other NATO allies and a few other nations, began Monday in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. It will involve 32 warships and 24 aircraft.

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The Russian military says it is monitoring the exercise.

Relations between Russia and the West have plummeted to post-Cold War lows in the wake of Moscow's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and support for pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

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Moscow has voiced concern about previous NATO’s drills near its borders, saying they threaten its security, while NATO allies have expressed worries about Russian military maneuvers.

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