Neizhpapa spoke about the maritime part of the century-old partnership between Ukraine and Britain

In particular, the agreement on the 100-year partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom provides for key areas of cooperation in the maritime sphere.

This is an important step in strengthening our positions as a maritime state, said the Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa.  

According to him, the agreement provides for strengthening cooperation in the defense, economic and trade spheres, as well as in the fields of energy, justice, climate, science, etc.

In the maritime sphere, key areas of cooperation include:

— partnership in maritime security (the earliest possible restoration of Ukraine’s control over all temporarily occupied territories, strengthening its potential as a powerful maritime and river state through the implementation of the Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine);

— maritime security and trade protection in the Black and Azov Seas and beyond (the Ukrainian and UK Navy will continue to strengthen their partnership, including through joint force groups (or “flotillas”) to ensure security in waters of strategic importance to both countries);

— within the Maritime Capabilities Coalition, which the UK co-leads with Norway, working together on the long-term development of maritime capabilities and doctrine to help Ukraine build a balanced maritime force capable of working with the UK and NATO partners to protect and maintain overall maritime security in the Black and Azov Seas and beyond;

— maritime training and education initiatives (effectively exploiting the benefits of these initiatives for the security and defence forces of both Ukraine and the UK, creating conditions for joint exercises and further developing relations between the Naval Forces. This may include joint events, training and port visits);

— facilitating the earliest possible achievement of Ukraine’s interoperability with NATO in the maritime sphere;

— partnership in the field of mine clearance (The United Kingdom will continue to support the financing of humanitarian demining in Ukraine, helping to develop new financial mechanisms and to promote the development of Ukrainian potential. The United Kingdom will also cooperate with Ukraine in the field of maritime demining within the framework of the Maritime Mine Action Task Force).

As a reminder, in January of this year, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Keir Starmer signed an agreement on a 100-year partnership.