Modern weapons and ammunition will be supplied under the cover of the Sea Breeze-2021 military exercise to Ukrainian troops and nationalistic formations stationed near the breakaway Donbass Republics, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
"It’s not a cover-up," military expert Col Mikhail Khodarenok told wek.ru. “Yes, some weapons can indeed be left in Ukraine after these exercises, as participants are not taking them back. This is not unusual for the U.S. army. They often left some of the armaments after drills in the host country. For example, during World War II, after the landing operation in the Philippines, they left their entire car fleet there. By the way, these American vehicles are still in use there. So, if some weapons and equipment are left to Ukraine, its military and political leaders will probably start using them at their own discretion.”
For his part, Konashenkov said that the Ukrainian-U.S. Sea Breeze exercise involving NATO member-states will be held against the background of ongoing allegations of Russia's military build-up on its southwestern borders. The spokesman said that the Russian Defense Ministry would closely monitor the preparations and the Ukrainian-American ‘Sea Breeze’ exercises themselves, and that it would respond appropriately to the situation in the interests of Russia’s military security.
"When the West holds drills in immediate proximity to our borders, the Russian Armed Forces always revise their standards of combat readiness, build up the forces on duty and increase reconnaissance in the cross-border regions,” Khodarenok said. “Satellite surveillance will also be stepped up to enable our armed forces to have a complete picture of what is happening in Ukraine.”