The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak said in an interview with Channel Five about the readiness of the country's Navy to "adequately" respond to the "hybrid" aggressive actions of the Russian Federation in the Black Sea. According to him, the military department made "conclusions from what is happening in the Sea of Azov."
According to Poltorak, the Ukrainian Navy has the opportunity "to maneuver and build up strength." He is also confident that the position of the Ukrainian Navy in the Black Sea is stronger than in the Sea of Azov, adding that Russia is not “the rightful owner of the Black Sea, because there are alliance countries there."
“Urgent measures”
On October 12, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko put into effect the decision of the country's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) “On Urgent Measures to Protect National Interests in the South and East of Ukraine, in the Black and Azov Seas and the Kerch Strait”.
The document states that the Russian Federation seeks to fully dominate the Black Sea region, impose "its own conditions of distribution of the marine area", limits port activities and fisheries of Ukraine.
Kiev also accused the Russian Federation of creating an offensive military group and illegal economic activity. Such a policy of Moscow, as reported by the National Security Council, leads to the destabilization of the economic situation and the sea blockade of the coast of Ukraine.
The strengthening of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation and the “militarization of the Crimea”, especially after the launch of the road part of the Crimean bridge, cause indignation in Kiev.
The Ukrainian plan to counter the Russian Federation is to modernize the port infrastructure in the Sea of Azov (work on dredging) and to significantly enhance the naval presence in the region (increasing ship-cutter forces and equipping coastal defense units with high-precision rocket weapons).
On October 16, Admiral Igor Voronchenko, commander of the Ukrainian Navy, in an interview with the BBC, said that Moscow was using “new methods of hybrid warfare” against Kiev. He believes that the Russian Federation prevents the fishing activity of Ukraine and freedom of navigation. Thus, Moscow is allegedly trying to bankrupt the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol, to sow "social destabilization in the Azov Sea."
“We assumed various scenarios for the development of events, and the most difficult one is the aggravation of the situation in the Azov and Black Seas, up to landing operations ... But I am sure that open aggression at sea will be the last step of the dying“ evil empire ”of the Russian Federation. They dare not do it. However, every day the Russians make some surprises, new methods of dirty, indirect actions, ”complained Voronchenko.
The commander of the Ukrainian Navy stressed that the Ukrainian fleet will focus on escorting civilian vessels, as well as patrolling territorial and neutral waters. At the same time, Voronchenko recognized the military superiority of the Russian Federation, assessing the balance of forces in the Black and Azov seas as “one in twenty.”
On November 8, 2018, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in first reading a bill on the legal regime of the coastal strip in the Black Sea. The document proposes the creation of a 24-mile “zone of control”, which includes territorial waters and an adjacent strip 12 miles wide, respectively.
As the author of the bill explained, the former press secretary of Poroshenko Irina Friz, the document will allow Kiev to actually double the “territory of control in the Black Sea”.
Commenting on this initiative, the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs Konstantin Zatulin told RT that the Verkhovna Rada’s actions are aimed at breaking contacts with Russia and creating “additional tension in various issues”.
“The adoption of this bill will mean the creation of additional opportunities for provocation in the Black Sea under the pretext of protecting unilaterally declared territorial waters or exclusive economic zones. In my opinion, Russia will not recognize anything of the kind, but it must be ready for the fact that further “tug-of-war” will begin and attempts to establish their homeic claims in a spur of the moment, ”he said.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Navy does not pose any danger to the Black Sea Fleet, says military observer Vladimir Mukhin. According to him, after 2014, Kiev was in a stalemate, and it will continue in the foreseeable future due to lack of resources for the development of naval forces.
“Today, Ukraine can boast only a few riverboats. The only more or less large ship Sagaidachny is in unsatisfactory technical condition. Any force of the Ukrainian Navy does not constitute. The maximum that they can arrange is to delay or bombard our civilian ships, ”Mukhin said.
Waiting for help from the USA
Kiev took the course to strengthen the naval forces in 2014. After the loss of the Crimea, the Ukrainian Navy lost more than half of the ship. Ukraine has less than 10 combat units left: the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny of Project 1135.1, the corvette Vinnitsa of Project 1124P, the medium landing ship Yury Olefirenko of Project 773, the raid minesweeper Geniches of Project 1258E, two armored boats Berdyansk and Akkerman »Project 58150" Gyurza-M ".
Currently, the total number of ships, boats and vessels of the auxiliary fleet of the Navy is about 50 units. Over the past four years, the technical condition of the naval forces has slightly improved. A part of the ships was repaired, four Gyurza-M boats with artillery weapons and two American coast guards of the Island type built in 1988 were commissioned.
Kiev does not hide that the Ukrainian Navy is experiencing an acute shortage of large ships. At the same time, since 2011, the corvette “Vladimir the Great” of project 58250 is in the unfinished state. In June 2018, Voronchenko told about the lack of funds to restore the combat potential of the Ukrainian fleet. According to the commander, while maintaining the current state of affairs, the program for the implementation of the project 58250, which involves the construction of four ships, is doomed to failure.
As Ukrainian media have previously reported, the country's defense ministry is negotiating with colleagues from the Pentagon about the possible transfer of used ships that were withdrawn from the US Navy. In particular, Kiev intends to receive decommissioned frigates of the type Oliver Hazard Perry, which American shipyards built in the second half of the 1970s.
If the issue is resolved positively, the overseas ships will be the largest in the Navy. Displacement Oliver Hazard Perry is 4.2 thousand tons, length - 135 m, width - 13.7 m, cruising range - up to 5 thousand miles. The frigate is armed with Harpoon anti-ship missiles, OTO Melara 76-mm artillery, 20-mm Phalanx CIWS anti-aircraft gun and two Mark 32 ASW torpedo tubes.
- Launched armored boat project 58155 "Gyurza-M"
- © Ukrainian Navy
In a conversation with RT, Ukrainian political analyst Vladimir Skachko noted that the United States is interested in maintaining tension in the Azov-Black Sea region. In his opinion, the Pentagon is ready to provide Kiev with some material assistance, but the really serious support (for example, the transfer of ships) will occur exclusively on a commercial basis.
“It is important for Americans to constantly tease, annoy Russia,“ cheering ”hot heads in Ukraine. But hardly written off warships will be transmitted free of charge. Let me remind you that the Americans managed to sell Poroshenko even patrol boats to be disposed of. Obviously, Kiev has no money for more serious purchases abroad and for the construction of its own ships, ”Skachko explained.