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The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved the Presidential Decree on deploying 321 Ukrainian servicemembers to Turkey and the United Kingdom — to service Ukrainian naval vessels currently located in these countries.
This was reported by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Denys Shmyhal.
“The Verkhovna Rada has approved the Presidential Decree of Ukraine on the deployment of units of the Armed Forces to other countries. The document, in particular, provides for the deployment of our military units to Turkey and the United Kingdom to service Ukrainian Navy ships”, — he stated.
According to the minister, all the deployed units will remain under the command of the Ukrainian Navy.
Two Ukrainian Ada-class corvettes — designed specifically to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Navy — are currently being built in Turkey. The first of them, Hetman Ivan Mazepa, has already been launched and is now undergoing trials. The second one, Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi, was launched on August 2, 2024.
Both ships are being constructed at Turkish shipyards as part of a joint Ukrainian-Turkish naval cooperation program, which includes the transfer of advanced technologies and the strengthening of defense partnership between the two nations.
However, since the beginning of the full-scale war between Ukraine and Russia, the Montreux Convention has been in effect, restricting the passage of warships through the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits during wartime. Because of this, the Ukrainian corvettes currently cannot enter the Black Sea and remain in Turkish ports.
A similar situation applies to the two Ukrainian Sandown-class mine countermeasure vessels — Chernihiv and Cherkasy — which the United Kingdom transferred to Ukraine in 2022. They are based in Portsmouth, UK, where crew training and technical maintenance are taking place. Their transfer to Ukraine is also complicated due to the same Convention.
The government emphasizes that the decision will not only ensure proper technical maintenance of Ukrainian ships but also expand practical cooperation with NATO partners.
“The adoption of this bill will deepen our cooperation with allies and strengthen security in the Black Sea region and across Europe. It will enhance the capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy”, — Denys Shmyhal stressed.
The head of the defense ministry also thanked the members of parliament for supporting a decision of strategic importance for the development of Ukraine’s naval forces amid the ongoing war.
