More than 200 soldiers from seven states, including Ukraine, are participating in the 4-day Sea Breeze 23.3 multinational drill, starting on Monday, by the Romanian and United States Naval Forces, on the Black Sea and in the Danube Delta.

According to the General Staff of the Romanian Naval Forces, the main objective of the exercise is to develop operational and tactical interoperability between the participating countries, in the field of combating explosive devices, in particular, drifting sea mines, in order to ensure freedom of navigation.

In the Sea Breeze 23.3 exercise, led by the Naval Component Command Vice Admiral Ioan Georgescu, forces and capabilities intended to fight against explosive devices from Bulgaria, France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Romania, the United States of America, Turkey and Ukraine are participating.

"The exercise takes place in maritime and fluvial districts, they are delimited, first of all, by the specifics of the actions. Concretely, near the port of Constanta are the districts where actions are carried out for EOD divers, in maritime districts in the territorial waters of Romania actions specific to ships with mine fighting capabilities take place and also in the north of the Danube Delta are actions of the River Flotilla represented by ships from the River Flotilla and personnel and military equipment from the Marine Infantry Regiment," said Commander Adrian Dinca, from the Romanian Naval Forces.

He was asked by journalists if the organizers of the exercise expect a surveillance from Russia during the military maneuvers.

"The exercise takes place in the territorial waters of Romania, but there is also this possibility. The Romanian personnel participating in the activity have clear procedures regarding the mode of action in such situations. (...) Depending on the specifics of the actions, the procedures are also adapted to these activities," Dinca said.

According to him, 227 soldiers are taking part in the Sea Breeze drill, of which 164 are from the Romanian Naval Forces and 63, representatives of the other participating countries.AGERPRES(RO - author: Nona Jalba, editor: Irina Poenaru; EN - author: Catalin Cristian Trandafir, editor: Maria Voican)