KYIV, July 20 - Sea Breeze, naval drills led by the U.S. and Ukraine kicked off on Monday in the Black Sea, while Russia called for a series of nearby snap naval drills, U.S. Naval Institute News reported.

“It started in 1997, and for the Ukrainian side, this [was] the main tool for entering NATO,” Rear Adm. Oleksiy Neizhpapa, commander of the Ukrainian Navy, said via a translator in a Monday conference call with reporters.