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Like I said when he took Crimea, it does no good to have a warm water port if you don’t have a land route to get there. You just need to look at a map to know he wasn’t done.

What about Novorossiysk, which is Russia's main port on the Black Sea? In 2003, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree setting up a naval base for the Black Sea Fleet in Novorossiysk. Russia has allocated 12.3 billion rubles (about $480 million) for the construction of the new base between 2007 and 2012. The construction of other facilities and infrastructure at the base, including units for coastal troops, aviation and logistics, will continue beyond 2012.

The Russian lease on port facilities in Sevastopol, which, though the main base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, is part of Ukraine, was set to expire in 2017. Ukraine was reported to be planning to not renew the lease; however, in April 2010 the Russian and Ukrainian presidents signed an agreement to extend the lease by twenty-five years, with an option of further extension of five years after the new term expires.

Also remember, with the situation in Syria being unstable, the Russian base at Tartus is in some jeopardy, which makes the bases in the Black Sea much more critical.

Seventy years ago today, the Russians seized Yalta, in the process of driving the Germans out of Crimea.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3145425/posts