5 Ways to Protect Ukraine's Black Sea Coastline and Bolster NATO's Naval Deterrence

5 Ways to Protect Ukraine's Black Sea Coastline and Bolster NATO's Naval Deterrence

Excerpts from Senior Fellow Arthur Herman's op-ed, "The Naval Response to the War in Ukraine" in The Wall Street Journal.

Reinforce Maritime Deterrence: "Keep Ukrainian forces supplied with anti-ship missiles that can deter Russian naval forces and amphibious landings. The Norwegian-made Naval Strike Missile can be launched from either ship or shore. Poland and Romania have bought them from Norway’s Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace. All three countries are NATO members; all three should be working together to build Ukraine’s anti-ship-missile arsenal, especially after Ukraine’s claim that it was able to destroy a Russian naval vessel near Mariupol using similar weaponry. It is vital to Europe’s peace and security that Ukraine not lose what remains of its Black Sea coastline, and that Russia not consider that international body of water its private naval and maritime preserve."
Partner with Turkey on Black Sea Access: "Make sure Turkey bans passage of Russian warships under Article 19 of the Montreux Convention, which governs access to the Black Sea through the straits, while allowing free passage of U.S. and NATO vessels. Under Article 19, Turkey can deny access to warships of war belligerents as long as Turkey isn’t a party to the conflict. This will come too late to interfere with the 30 or more Russian warships already blockading the Ukraine coastline. But closing the straits would hamper attempts to reinforce future large naval operations, and signal that the Russian navy can no longer act as if the Black Sea is its private lake."
Bolster NATO's Naval Presence: "Send a U.S.-led NATO flotilla to show the flag at ports of friendly countries on the Black Sea. Last July NATO conducted an important Black Sea exercise with some 30 vessels from 32 NATO members and other countries, including Ukraine. The NATO presence has since nearly vanished. It’s time to revive a robust Western naval presence."
Deploy a Humanitarian Sealift: "Organize a humanitarian sealift with a convoy of ships under NATO escort bringing food and medical supplies to Russian-occupied Kherson. This convoy can show Moscow that although Kherson is currently occupied by Russian troops, it is still Ukrainian sovereign territory."
Formulate a new NATO Maritime Strategy: "Devise a naval strategy for the Black Sea region. A single French frigate visited the region in December 2021 and left the day after the New Year. No major NATO warship has made an appearance since, even as Russia ravages Ukraine."

Quotes have been edited for clarity and length.

Go Deeper

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