RUSSIAN BLACK SEA FLEET’S EASTERN BASE IN BAD SHAPE.

RUSSIAN BLACK SEA FLEET’S EASTERN BASE IN BAD SHAPE.

The commander of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Kravchenko, indicated yesterday at his Sevastopol headquarters that the Fleet’s base in Novorossiisk may be in a critical condition. Kravchenko urged the base command, "even in these severe financial circumstances," to do more in order to repair the ships, improve military discipline and raise the base command’s authority, "both in the eyes of local authorities and in the eyes of naval personnel." (Ukrainian agencies, April 7) The latter imputation sounds particularly serious. It may presage changes in the command. Last year, after the Russian fleet had lost control of some bases on Ukrainian territory, Novorossiisk — located in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai — became the site of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s eastern base and headquarters. Ukraine would prefer to see the Fleet’s main base moved from Sevastopol to Novorossiisk.

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