Ukrainian Navy fighters capture Dutch minesweeper
4.12.2024 - 11:36
Ukrainian crew completes training on Dutch mine-clearing vessel.
A crew of 35 Ukrainian sailors has completed training aboard the Dutch minesweeper Makkum. The press service of the Dutch Ministry of Defense reported this.
The training lasted for more than two months. The Ukrainian crew was trained by instructors and translators from NATO allies. At the same time, the technical personnel are undergoing training at a naval academy in Belgium.
The Makkum vessel was decommissioned on November 25. Together with its “sister” minesweeper Vlaardingen, it will soon be transferred to Ukraine.
According to the Dutch military, these two minesweepers, along with Belgian and British ships, will become the basis for Ukrainian maritime mine-clearing. This is especially important in conditions when Russia has mined a significant area of the Black Sea, which prevents safe navigation.
As USM wrote, the day before, the Ukrainian Navy destroyed a Russian sea mine in the Odesa region.
