President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham boarded one of Ukraine's mine countermeasure vessels – "Cherkasy", reports UNN.
Details
As reported by the Presidential Office, this is a Sandown-class vessel, which, together with the ship "Chernihiv", Ukraine received from Britain in January 2023. They are named after the minesweepers that resisted during the Russian occupation of Crimea in 2014.
The other three vessels are of the Alkmaar class, two of which were transferred to Ukraine by the Netherlands and one by Belgium. During a visit to the Netherlands in April of this year, the Head of State met with the crew of the ship "Henichesk" during training. In June, the ship was included in the composition of the Ukrainian Navy.
In addition, the leaders were shown the British drone Windracers ULTRA with a flight range of up to 2000 kilometers, designed for transporting ammunition, military equipment, and medical supplies over long distances; the Portuguese multi-purpose unmanned system TEKEVER AR3 EVO, which conducts reconnaissance, target designation, communication relay, and electronic warfare, actively used by Ukrainian soldiers; the British unmanned surface vehicle Kraken K3 Scout, which can operate autonomously for up to 30 days and carry loads of up to 600 kilograms.
Recall
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is establishing a mine countermeasure forces group in the Black Sea. The government has already adopted a resolution regulating funding for the implementation of the mine safety project at sea.
The government resolution opens funding for the implementation of the project for the supply and maintenance of two British Sandown-class mine countermeasure vessels – "Cherkasy" and "Chernihiv", as provided for by the Framework Agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the United Kingdom.