Starting from 1878 back when the Treaty of Berlin offered it to Romania and until today, this piece of rock has played various roles that have reflected the interests of the countries in the region. After being a simple location for a lighthouse used for guiding navigation, it became a strategic point for the USSR, the latter annexing it in 1948 through a simple handing over minute, out of the desire to complete its control of the Danube by taking advantage of the military and strategic context of that time. After the fall of the Soviet Empire when it became part of Ukraine, the latter being USSR's successor state, the island has changed its nature and even its importance, with its statute now having major implications in establishing and delimitating [sic] Romania's and Ukraine's territorial seas and continental shelf. And those implications stem from the perspective and goal of exploiting the area's reserves of more than ten million tones of oil and 100 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
The basic treaty between the two countries, a treaty that Romania signed on June 2, 1997 under pressure to fulfil the border stability criteria needed to join NATO, has re-opened the issue in the context of subsequent border delimitation [sic] negotiations.
Ron commanded the Ukrainians attempting to impose their will upon the region in defiance of the International Court decision while I controlled the Romanian forces ordered to assert their sovereignty.
Both sides approached the disputed region cautiously and under [EmCon] Emissions Control so as not to reveal any information to the opponent. NATO and Russian forces were actively emitting ECM so I didn't feel the need to add to the electronic noise. Frigates Regina Maria and Regele Ferdinand slowed down and mimicked the local fishing vessels while paying attention to their sonar and ESM watches.
Soon enough, two Matka corvettes revealed themselves along with a Krivak frigate. Each target was taken under fire by a brace of Exocet SSMs. Unfortunately, only one Matka was sunk thus demanding a second salvo. After surviving the first wave of SSMs, Ron returned fire from a distant Tarantul corvette. The missiles crossed paths in mid-air and three more Ukrainian ships were soon sinking.
Luckily (for me), the Ukrainian return fire attracted the attention of the Russians on patrol who proceeded to shoot down the Ukrainian missiles while opening fire on the Ukrainian navy. Only a few Sunburn missiles got penetrated the concentrated defenses to strike my two frigates. The damage was severe (65% and 76%), but both vessels stayed afloat.
Out of missiles and out of luck, the Russians battered the surviving Ukrainian forces into submission.
Thanks to Ron for a challenging match and hope for many more in the future.
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