Britain to sign a 10-year security pact to ramp up Ukraine's navy
Photo: armyinform.com.ua
Great Britain and Ukraine can sign a 10-year agreement, within which Britain will provide support focused on strengthening the naval potential. The country can also undertake to help Ukraine financially and exchange intelligence data.
The Telegraph writes about this with reference to the British defense agencies, Rubryka informs.
The agreement should be signed "in the coming weeks"; it should oblige Great Britain to "keep Kyiv in the fight" against Russia.
The media outlet writes that "military leaders (of Great Britain — ed.) have been impressed with Ukraine's performance in the Black Sea, where it has forced Russia's navy to retreat from its traditional stronghold in occupied Crimea."
That's why the country wants to use "its maritime strength and knowledge to help further build up Ukrainian naval power."
In addition to agreements to support the Ukrainian Navy, the agreement will include post-war security guarantees if Russia plans the next attack on Ukraine.
In particular, in this case, it is expected to increase the supply of weapons and restore sanctions.
Also, the Armed Forces of Great Britain should continue the training program for the Ukrainian military, within which more than 30 thousand Ukrainians have already been trained.
It will be recalled that it was previously reported that Great Britain and Norway will jointly lead a new maritime coalition for Ukraine.
They should propose a plan to develop the Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Including:
- Two mine countermeasure ships of the "Sandown" class from the British Navy,
- 20 Viking amphibious vehicles,
- 23 raid vessels.
The transfer of boats and armored vehicles will take place as part of the maritime coalition led by Great Britain and Norway to help Ukraine.
The Maritime Coalition will work closely with the Ukrainian Navy and the Ministry of Defense to provide long-term support to Ukraine, including training, equipment, and infrastructure, to strengthen security in the Black Sea.
Reference
It is worth noting that Ukrainian ships still sail under the flag of Great Britain, although they also have the insignia of Ukraine's naval forces.
The absence of the Ukrainian flag on the ships can be explained by the fact that they are still part of the British fleet, although they were transferred to Ukraine. This could be caused by basing ships in British ports and, accordingly, operational subordination to the local admiralty.
This is not the first such phenomenon in world history. Similarly, in November 1939, the Polish fleet, unable to return to its own ports due to the occupation of the country, was forced to relocate to Great Britain.
At that time, according to the Anglo-Polish Naval Agreement, the Polish naval unit was commanded by Polish officers. The ships were manned by Polish crews with Polish uniforms and insignia and were subject to Polish regulation but, at the same time, subject to the operational control of the British Admiralty.
The ships sailed under the national flags of the Polish Navy and the United Kingdom.
We will remind that the first Ukrainian corvette of the ADA class, "Hetman Ivan Mazepa," was launched in Turkey at the RMK Marine shipyard.
The hull of the future flagship of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is made of steel, which was produced at the Azovstal and Illich Steel and Iron Works plants even before the full-scale war.
"When the corvette was laid down in September 2021, no one could have guessed that six months later, the metal of its hull would become exclusive. And then Metinvest handed over 1,000 tons of hot-rolled sheet for the production of the corvette: part was brought directly from Mariupol, and the other from the Italian Metinvest Trametal, where rolled products were made from Azovstal slabs," noted in the press release of the company Metinvest.
The flagship of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the "Hetman Ivan Mazepa" corvette, which is currently under construction in Turkey, may enter the ranks of the national fleet in 2025.
It was also reported that Ukrainian military sailors on the sea minesweepers "Cherkasy" and "Chernihiv" took part in the Joint Warrior international exercises held in the waters of Great Britain.
