ODESSA, July 19 - A flotilla of 30 navy ships from Ukraine, the U.S., Turkey, Romania and Georgia will participate in exercise in the Black Sea this month as tensions increase in eastern regions where the government forces are fighting Moscow-backed separatists.

The ships on Tuesday departed the port of Odessa and the nearby Western Naval Base to participate in the at-sea phase of Sea Breeze 2017 in the Black Sea.

Divers will conduct search-and-rescue and explosive ordnance disposal missions, while other units will carry out anti-submarine warfare, submarine warfare and air warfare missions.

Aviation and amphibious components will also be tested during this phase. U.S. Marines will operate with their Ukrainian and Turkish counterparts, carrying out visiting, boarding, and search-and-seizure missions at sea and employing other tactics on land.

"The key thing about this exercise is, over the last renditions of it, it's becoming far more complex; a very robust sea, air and land component," said Navy Capt. Matthew Lehman, deputy commander of U.S. 6th Fleet's Task Force 65 and the officer in tactical control of the exercise, in a statement.

The exercise comes as tensions mount in eastern parts of Ukraine with Russian-backed on Tuesday announcing the creation of a new state they call Little Russia, or malorossiya.

The announcement, which was condemned by major international powers, is threatening to derail the Minsk peace process deal that has been negotiated in 2015.

As the Sea Breeze exercise forces transition into free play, an exercise control cell will inject information about notional events as part of the scenario. Operational-level leaders will assess the events and order tactical units -- such as ships -- to respond with controllers evaluating the decision-making and the execution of tasks by the tactical units.

"They know the mission and specified task, but they don't know the implied task," said Ukrainian navy Capt. Andrey Ryzhenko, commander of maritime forces for the exercise.

The guided missile cruiser USS Hue City departed Odessa on July 13, 2017.

Sea Breeze is a U.S. and Ukraine co-hosted multinational maritime exercise held in the Black Sea to enhance the interoperability of participating nations and strengthen maritime security in the region. The exercise is taking place from July 10-22, and air, land, sea, and amphibious forces from 17 nations will participate. (tl/ez)