MOSCOW, July 25. /TASS/. Ukraine has lost its access to the Sea of Azov, therefore its naval security strategy is detached from reality, says Russian Presidential Aide Nikolay Patrushev, who supervises the issues of national maritime
"[Vladimir] Zelensky, who calls himself president, once again tries to convince the people of Ukraine of the legitimacy of the Kiev neo-Nazi authorities by signing such dopolicy.cuments [the naval security strategy - TASS]. In the strategy, he laid out claims that are detached from the current reality," the official said in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
"What Ukrainian Navy missions and exercises are there to talk about, if currently the Sea of Azov is Russia’s inland sea, meaning that Ukraine has lost access to the Azov waters, both de fact and de jure," Patrushev asked, talking about the adopted strategy’s content.
He pointed out that Russia also "foiled NATO’s intentions to deploy a naval base in the Sea of Azov and carry out military adventures using the fleet."
"Seeking to ensure the presence of its ships in Sea of Azov ports, NATO tried to make up for the failure of its plans a decade ago that envisaged creating the alliance’s naval base in Sevastopol and turning the Crimean Peninsula into a permanent deployment site of American troops and Washington’s allied forces," Patrushev explained.
He also underscored that ships of Western states cannot freely access Azov ports.
"Considering the aggressive nature of Western states that directly support the Kiev regime in its hostilities and terror attacks against Russia, free access of their ships to Azov ports is completely off the table," he said.
Previously, Zelensky signed a decree that enacted the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Country resolution on the Ukrainian naval security strategy. Its main stated goals are construction of naval forces and ensuring permanent NATO presence in the Black Sea.