Great Britain handed Ukraine two minesweepers of the Royal Navy. They have alre…

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

Sandown-class warships, HMS Grimsby and HMS Shoreham, have been decommissioned 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 based in Portsmouth while crew members undergo training to prepare them to search for mines 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 in time of war. However, they will be a critical asset for Ukraine in its future coastline defense as the UK seeks to support the long-term capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy , while they seek to protect commercial shipping by detecting and disarming sea mines,” said a spokesman for the British Ministry of Defence.

🇺🇦@ukraine_report 🇺🇦🔱 Liz