News Feed

UK announces naval coalition with Norway to support Ukraine

2 min read
UK announces naval coalition with Norway to support Ukraine
HMS Shoreham, a Sandown Class minesweeper, off the coast of Bahrain on Jan. 3, 2021. (Wikipedia/Nicholas Stevenson)

The U.K. announced on Dec. 11 a new Maritime Capability Coalition with Norway to support the Ukrainian Navy and the procurement of two British minehunters by Kyiv.

The Black Sea remains heavily mined due to Russia's full-scale war, seriously threatening civilian vessels. Minesweeping capabilities would help Ukraine strengthen security in the Black Sea and enable continued shipping in spite of Russian threats.

The coalition's goal is to deliver "ships and vehicles to strengthen Ukraine's ability to operate at sea" and provide "training, equipment, and infrastructure to bolster security in the Black Sea."

U.K. Defense Secretary Grant Shapps is scheduled to confirm the provision of two Sandown Class vessels later on Dec. 11 alongside his Norwegian counterpart Bjorn Arild Gram.

Ukraine is procuring the vessels via the U.K. Export Finance, the country's export credit agency.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry later said that London is also providing 20 Viking amphibious vehicles and 23 raiding crafts.

"The new Maritime Capability Coalition will build the support that the U.K., Norway, and others are providing to Ukraine," the U.K. Defense Ministry's statement read.

"This will be a long-term help to Ukraine transform its navy, making it more compatible with Western allies, more interoperable with NATO, and bolstering security in the Black Sea."

Shapps commented that the minehunters would "deliver vital capability to Ukraine, which will help save lives at sea and open up vital export routes."

"I would like to thank the U.K. for taking the initiative in creating this coalition," the Norwegian defense minister said, adding that other countries are expected to join as well.

The coalition is only the latest in a series of allied initiatives to support various areas of the Ukrainian military capabilities, such as the fighter jet coalition.

The Ukrainian Navy also commissioned two Sandown Class vessels named Chernihiv and Cherkasy in July this year. London is retiring its Sandown fleet in favor of new unmanned systems.

UK allocates $4.6 million to support war crimes investigation in Ukraine
The newly-announced funding aims to provide open-source intelligence skills to Ukrainian prosecutors and train them to prepare well-evidenced legal cases.
Article image
Avatar
Martin Fornusek

Senior News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He was also volunteering as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

Read more
News Feed
Video

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, war has become a daily reality for thousands of Ukrainian children. Some Ukrainian military units, such as the Azov Brigade, offer boot camps for teenagers to teach them the basics of self-defense, first aid, dry firing, and other survival skills — helping them prepare for both the realities of today and the uncertainties of the future.

Show More