This type of assistance will be ready for use only after 2 years, and during this time the Ukrainian military will be thoroughly prepared. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine noted that this is one of the stages in the creation of a naval coalition.
The Netherlands is going to transfer Alkmaar-class minesweepers to Ukraine, which may be useful for the security of Odessa. This was stated at a briefing in Odessa by the head of the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands Kaisi Ollongren.
At the moment, Ukraine’s Western partners understand the strategic and economic importance of the Odessa harbors and therefore decided to supply two Alkmaar-class minesweepers.
They will not be ready for use immediately, but only by 2025. During this time, Ukrainian units will be required to undergo an appropriate exercise.
“We will start training Ukrainian units so that they know how to use these boats. This will be done together with Belgium and our other allies. The boats will be ready for use in 2025. This is such a contribution to the capabilities of the naval forces. We also we will provide other abilities – these are bridges and crossings,” said Kaisa Ollongren.
This is a huge plus for the Ukrainian port city of Odessa. Minesweepers are ships that are designed to search for mines and clear the territory at sea, and as a result of a full-scale war, a sufficient amount of ammunition from the Russian side remained at the bottom.
In peacetime, they are used to ensure the safety of navigation, but during military conflicts they are great for decontaminating minefields.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov noted that Alkmaar-class minesweepers are complex systems, and crews need to be thoroughly trained. At the same time, while the hot phase of the war continues, according to the Montreux Convention (a convention on Turkish sovereignty over the straits from the Black to the Mediterranean Sea), the passage of warships through the Bosphorus is impossible.
“That is, we can say that a naval coalition has already been created,” says Alexei Reznikov.
Recall, on October 29 last year, the RF Ministry of Defense reported that minesweeper Ivan Golubets was damaged in Sevastopol after explosions. The occupants claim that the Ukrainian military allegedly deployed 9 drones and 7 autonomous maritime drones.
