Riverine 2021 Romanian-Ukrainian military exercise on Danube kicks off

The Mihail Kogalniceanu River Flotilla organizes, starting Monday, the Romanian-Ukrainian exercise Riverine 2021, which takes place on the Danube River, between Tulcea, southeastern Romania and Izmail, Ukraine, in which the military river ships, helicopters, divers and marines from the two countries are participating, announced in a press release sent to AGERPRES the General Staff of the Naval Forces (SMFN).

The Riverine 2021 exercise aims at the consolidation of the military cooperation between Romania and Ukraine, in the naval field, on the Danube River, by developing the level of training of the forces participating in the activity and the interoperability between them.

"The official opening ceremony of the exercise will take place on Tuesday, September 28, starting at 10:00, in the Civic Square of Tulcea, in the presence of the heads of the naval forces in Romania and Ukraine, of the Ukrainian defense attache accredited in Romania, of the representatives of the central and local authorities, of the Governor of the Danube Delta Biosphere Administration, of the representatives of the Ministry of National Defense, the Internal Affairs Ministry (MAI), the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), the Special Telecommunications Service (STS) and the Justice Ministry (MJ) from Tulcea County, as well as the commanders of large units from the Romanian Naval Forces. The Guard of Honour of the drill unit will be provided by the soldiers from the 307th Marine Infantry Battalion, and the national anthems of Romania and Ukraine will be sung by the Military Music of the Naval Forces," reads the mentioned source.

Two armored vessels, two river vessels, a river tug, a border police ship, a Puma Naval helicopter, a detachment of EOD divers, a platoon of marines, six fast assault boats and staff officers participate in the activities on the Danube, on behalf of Romania, and the Ukrainian partners participate in the maneuvers in the Danube Delta area with three armored vessels, an auxiliary ship, a helicopter, three Coast Guard ships, a platoon of marines, a detachment of EOD divers, a rapid assault craft and staff officers.

"Approximately 600 Romanian and Ukrainian military will conduct tactical maneuvers, according to NATO operational standards, inspection and control exercises on suspicious boats, towing exercises, as well as training for the implementation of action procedures for interventions in emergency situations. The bilateral exercise Riverine takes place annually, in the Danube Delta area and is led, alternatively, by the Romanian Naval Forces and the Ukrainian Naval Forces," is also specified in the SMFN release.

According to the source, the training activities carried out on the Danube contribute to the improvement of capacity of the Romanian Naval Forces military to respond, quickly and efficiently, to a diverse spectrum of threats on the southeastern flank of the North Atlantic Alliance.

The cooperation between the military fleets of Romania and Ukraine has evolved, in recent years, through the joint exercises conducted in the Danube Delta area, in order to diversify the ways in which NATO supports the efforts of the states bordering the Black Sea made to strengthen regional security.AGERPRES