Any attempt to end Russia's blockade of the Ukrainian port Odessa would be a "high-risk military operation", top US General Mark Milley has said as he embarked on a European tour.

Milley, speaking in London on Tuesday ahead of stops in Finland and Sweden as they bid to join NATO, noted Black Sea shipping lanes were blocked by mines and the Russian navy.

This has confined dozens of container ships to Ukrainian ports, including the main hub of Odessa, preventing global grain supplies being delivered and prompting fears of a worldwide food crisis.

"In order to open up those sea lanes, that would require a very significant military effort by some nation or group of nations," Milley told reporters travelling with him through Europe.

"Options are always looked at... I wouldn't ever rule anything out, or never rule anything in, but I would tell you that that would be a high-risk military operation that would require a significant level of effort."

Milley -- who last month spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov in their first discussion since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February -- added any decision over the blockade would be "policy and political choices".

While in London, Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will attend a meeting Wednesday of the "Five Eyes" intelligence alliance comprising the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

His attendance was "to continue to assure our allies and partners that the United States is here and that we are a good friend, a good ally, a good partner," he said.

The US general will also represent Washington, alongside other American officials, on Thursday as four days of celebrations get underway for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee.

On Friday, he will head to Helsinki for talks with President Sauli Niinisto and defence minister Antti Kaikkonen, after Finland -- which shares a long border with Russia -- applied to join NATO along with Sweden.

The following day, Milley will watch joint military manoeuvres between the Western alliance and the Swedish navy, alongside that country's defence minister Peter Hultqvist.

He will also have an audience with Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The final leg of the tour will take Milley to France, where he will participate in several ceremonies marking the WWII Normandy landings, and then on to a June 8 meeting of NATO members' chiefs of staff devoted to Ukraine.

Related Links
Naval Warfare in the 21st Century

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Kleos executes agreement with US Navy for maritime domain awareness exercise
Denver CO (SPX) Jun 01, 2022
Kleos Space Inc., a space-powered Radio Frequency Reconnaissance Data-as-a-Service (DaaS) and Mission-as-a-Service provider (MaaS), announces successful execution of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Division, Crane (NSWC Crane) for joint data experimentation. Under the CRADA agreement, Kleos will provide its radio frequency (RF) geolocation data in realistic test scenarios to improve maritime domain awareness for real-world challenges, ... read more