Great Britain transfers 2 minesweepers to Ukraine

Great Britain handed Ukraine two sea minesweepers of the Royal Navy. They have now arrived in Portsmouth, where their crews are undergoing training to prepare for missions in the Black Sea.

This is reported by the Portsmouth News.

Sandown-class warships HMS Grimsby and HMS Shoreham have reportedly been withdrawn from the Royal Navy and transferred to the Ukrainian military, where they will operate under the names Chernihiv and Cherkasy. The ships, which have each served in the Royal Navy for more than 20 years, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Base after sailing from Scotland.

They will remain in Portsmouth while crew members undergo training to prepare for mine-hunting in the Black Sea.

"The ships are currently unable to enter the Black Sea due to the terms of the Montreux Convention, which restricts the passage of warships through the Bosphorus Strait during wartime. However, they will be a critical asset for Ukraine in its future defense of its coastline as the UK seeks to support Ukraine's long-term capabilities fleet. In contrast, they seek to protect commercial shipping by detecting and disarming sea mines," said a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence.

At the same time, the temporary charge d'affaires of Ukraine, Eduard Fesko, said that minesweepers would be important for the restoration of trade routes after the end of the war.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, in March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named the Ada-type corvette, which is currently being built at a shipyard in Istanbul. The ship was named after Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi.