"The fight is about to begin," the adjutant said nervously to Admiral Meiro.
"What?" After hearing this, the old man stood up immediately.
The internal conflicts in the Black Sea Fleet are still very deep. In the past, everyone worked for the Soviet Union. Although ethnic conflicts existed, at least they were not too obvious, and there was no difference in the allocation of resources and treatment of the fleet.
Officers and soldiers of different ethnic groups get along relatively harmoniously.
But with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, this inherent shortcoming broke out
Since there is no clear ownership, both Russia and Ukraine are competing for the ownership of the Black Sea Fleet. At the same time, some conflicts have occurred within the Black Sea Fleet due to ethnic issues.
Although Russia and Ukraine have not yet reached an agreement on the issue of the Black Sea Fleet, the ultimate goal will certainly not be for one country to monopolize it, but to divide the Black Sea Fleet into two forces: the Russian Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Navy.
In this chaotic situation, all military facilities and equipment, as well as the distribution of fleet ships, will not be operated in accordance with the administrative orders of the governments of both parties. Instead, the military personnel who use and control these equipment and supplies will operate according to their own
The freedom to choose which army to join
This creates more problems and intensifies the escalation of internal conflicts.
Admiral Melo didn't ask any questions during the dinner and left in a hurry.
Ye Kai was in a good mood, because the more chaotic the situation in the Black Sea Fleet was, the more it prompted Admiral Meiro to make up his mind to cooperate with him as soon as possible, settle the matter of the Varyag aircraft carrier, and take the money and leave.
Because in such a chaotic situation, it is difficult for him to get recognition from Russia or Ukraine, and the position of fleet commander will not last long. Instead of doing this, it is better to make some money first, otherwise there will be no money for retirement in the future.
Tragic
However, this episode also made Ye Kai notice a problem. The competition between Russia and Ukraine for the Black Sea Fleet has become fierce.
The strategic position of the Black Sea Fleet is very important, but its fatal weaknesses are also very prominent.
First, the outlet to the sea is easily blocked and strategic maneuverability is inconvenient. The Black Sea penetrates deep into the Eurasian continent and is particularly closed. Only the Bosporus and Dardanelles in Turkey are connected to the Mediterranean. The Bosporus is 16 nautical miles long.
The width of the Dardanelles is 800-2400 meters, and the water is 33 to 80 meters. The Dardanelles is 36 nautical miles long, 1300 to 7000 meters wide, and the water is 57 to 70 meters deep. Therefore, ships entering and exiting the strait are restricted by people.
Second, it is far away from other fleets, making strategic support inconvenient. Russia's Northern Fleet, Baltic Fleet, Black Sea Fleet and Pacific Fleet are geographically separated and cannot be connected together. They are thousands of nautical miles apart, making the fleets deployed in each other's territory.
There are 12 separate sea areas, and the maritime connections between them have to go through long sea routes.
Odessa on the Black Sea is about 4,900 nautical miles away from St. Petersburg: it is about 9,400 nautical miles from the Suez Canal and the Strait of Malacca to Vladivostok; it is about 9,400 nautical miles from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope, across the Indian Ocean, and through the Strait of Malacca to Vladivostok. The whole journey is about 16,000 nautical miles. The geographical separation has caused the Black Sea Fleet
It is very difficult to maneuver and support forces with other fleets
After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the Black Sea Fleet became the primary target of competition between Russia and Ukraine, but there were also many problems.
The first is the issue of strategic nuclear forces. Ukraine maintains that strategic nuclear forces only refer to combat capabilities equipped with specialized strategic nuclear weapons. Therefore, the Black Sea Fleet without strategic nuclear forces does not belong to the strategic force and should be incorporated into Ukraine’s military. However, Russia believes that,
For strategic nuclear forces, the comprehensive use of conventional forces such as ground forces, air force, and navy is an indispensable force to improve strategic stability. Although the Black Sea Fleet does not have strategic nuclear weapons, it is responsible for the tactical and strategic tasks of destroying imaginary enemy targets. The entire navy
They are all important components of the strategic army.
The second is the issue of fleet division. Ukraine requires the division of 90% of the Black Sea Fleet. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense clearly proposed that 91% of the fleet's combat effectiveness be transferred to Ukraine, 9% of its combat personnel, 22% of its ships, and the ownership of nuclear weapons delivery means belongs to the CIS.
However, Russia only agreed to cede 20% to 22% of the fleet's combat effectiveness to Ukraine, and agreed to assist Ukraine in building a navy.
The third issue is the allegiance of fleet officers and soldiers. The fleet is composed of soldiers from 46 different ethnic groups. On some ships, sailors come from 25 ethnic groups. The battle for dominance of the Black Sea Fleet will not only reduce the combat effectiveness of the fleet, but also cause problems among the fleet.
Split among officers and soldiers
First, the then Ukrainian President Kravchuk and Defense Minister Morozov issued orders successively, stipulating that all officers and soldiers of the three former Soviet military districts and the Black Sea Fleet stationed in Ukraine must swear allegiance to Ukraine, otherwise they will be dismissed or retired.
A Ukrainian-captained frigate in the Black Sea Fleet hoisted the Ukrainian flag and left the base to join the Ukrainian Navy. However, most of the ships still flew the naval flag of the former Soviet Union, and 90% of newly enlisted soldiers swore allegiance to Russia0
In such a contradiction, another conflict between the Black Sea Fleet will definitely be inevitable
But Ye Kai is also guessing whether they are fighting now or whether they have already used guns and cannons?
There is almost no objection to the dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Russia will definitely take advantage, because Ukraine is economically dependent on Russia, especially in terms of energy. Secondly, Ukraine owes Russia a huge debt, totaling 100 million US dollars.
In addition, in order to stabilize the situation in Crimea, which has serious separatist tendencies, Ukraine also needs to rely on Russia's support.
"Young Master Ye, you seem to be a bit gloating about others' misfortune." Wang Luodan on the side commented on Ye Kaidao after looking at it.
"Haha, this is not gloating, this is called the snipe and the clam fighting, and the fisherman benefits." Ye Kai replied with a smile, "If they hadn't made such a fuss, I wouldn't have had the chance to intervene."
Ye Kai's way of getting the news was not slow. After finishing the meal, General Dyanov passed the news over.
"How could someone in Moscow know about the Black Sea Fleet so quickly?" After hearing this, Wang Luodan immediately showed a very surprised expression.
"This is normal. General Dyanov has been the head of the KGB in Ukraine for a long time. He has many intelligence personnel and naturally has a wide range of information sources. Even after returning to Moscow at this time, he still has a strong control over the situation in Ukraine.
"Ye Kai explained
Of course, there is another main reason for this, which is that Major Butt is also very powerful in Ukraine, and he cooperates closely with the top military officials. If he wants to figure out the affairs of the Black Sea Fleet, he will be like a star.
If it were simply General Dyanov, he might not be so responsible for Ye Kai, nor would he be able to share information with him at any time.
The reason for the conflict in the Black Sea Fleet is actually very simple. It is because of the issue of dividing houses.
During the former Soviet Union, the housing problem of the Soviet army was naturally distributed according to individual conditions. At that time, the Black Sea Fleet built a residential building, which was shared by the officers of the entire fleet.
But because the fleet was about to be separated, the quartermaster started to use his brain. The deputy commander of the fleet was Ukrainian, and he had some conflicts with the fleet commander, Admiral Meylo. In order to monopolize this residential building, the quartermaster quickly moved this residential building.
All apartments in the building were allocated to Russian military officers and check-in procedures were completed for them.
After learning the news, the deputy commander was immediately filled with righteous indignation. He quickly allocated all the housing in this building to Ukrainian officers, and issued an injunction requiring all officers who obtained housing to move in immediately.
Although only some rooms in this building have been fully renovated, and some residences have not even had time to install bathroom equipment, the arrival of Ukrainian military officers has stopped all renovation work.
The Ukrainian deputy commander of the Black Sea Fleet foresaw that this move might lead to conflicts between the two sides, so he sent more than a dozen soldiers and officers to defend the residential building.
His conjecture was indeed correct. The hard-core subordinates of Admiral Meiro, the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, were furious when they learned of the Ukrainian actions, and immediately sent sixty Marines to seize the residential building.
As a result, a fierce conflict broke out between the Russian Marines who were ordered to seize the building and more than a dozen Ukrainian officers and soldiers stationed to guard the building. After receiving the news, the Ukrainian deputy commander quickly dispatched his Marine Corps to the front.
Come for reinforcements
"A house, what about it?" Wang Luodan said in disbelief after hearing this
"This is not just a matter of houses. Besides, the Soviet army is really nervous about housing allocation. The army is different from local people and cannot build their own houses. Therefore, the issue of allocation has always been a taboo for the military. In the past, it was because of this matter
"There have been disputes within the army, but now it's just the housing issue that has caused ethnic disputes," Ye Kai replied.
He saw this matter very clearly. On the surface, it was just a fight for a house. In fact, it was a fight between the two sides for dominance over the fleet. The Russians, who had the majority, and the Ukrainians, who were fighting at home, were fighting.
"But this matter is a good thing for us." Ye Kai suddenly turned around and said, "After Admiral Meiro realized that his control of the fleet was insufficient, he would naturally think of cooperating with us as soon as possible to bring Valiang to the rescue.
Get rid of the USS Grid to avoid changes in the long run. You must know that once an agreement is reached between Russia and Ukraine, the leader that this fleet may have, he, the former Soviet admiral, will step aside.
"
Ye Kai is not optimistic about Admiral Meiro. He has not even obtained a Russian military rank, which shows that Yeltsin does not like him. Therefore, the old man himself is self-aware and will choose to cooperate with Ye Kai to make money. To be continued