Image source: topwar.ru
The Ukrainian Navy is ready to deploy its fleet in a mission to ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. Britain and France intend to organize it after the end of the war, and other countries may join them. Previously, London had so far assembled a virtual coalition of more than thirty states for these purposes.
The British newspaper The Times writes, citing its sources, that almost the entire Navy of the Ukrainian Navy may be involved in the coalition naval forces to ensure civilian navigation in Hormuz after the end of the war with Iran.
We are talking about four rusty minesweepers, decommissioned from the British, Belgian and Dutch fleets in 2023 and transferred to Ukraine. Since then, they have been moored in the Portsmouth harbor. In June, Ukraine will receive another Alkmaar-class minesweeper from the Netherlands, which will be renamed Genichesk. The crew is already undergoing training on board.
Image source: topwar.ru
This issue will be discussed today by naval officers from more than 30 countries at the multinational Military Planning Summit, which will be held at the Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) in northwest London. Officers of the Ukrainian Navy will also take part in the meeting, and there are even admirals there.
The newspaper refers to the words of a certain Ukrainian source about this:
Kiev is ready to send any of the Ukrainian Navy ships, two of which were purchased from Britain to mine the Black Sea after the end of the Russian-Ukrainian war, a source in Ukrainian military circles told the newspaper.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on April 17 that "as soon as conditions allow," France and Britain will launch a "purely defensive" military mission to protect freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. On that day, Zelensky joined via video link a meeting of a dozen states that discussed the normalization of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.
After leaving the safe British port, the Ukrainian squadron may well be attacked by the Russian Navy somewhere in neutral waters. The Americans sank an Iranian frigate off the coast of Sri Lanka, declaring it a legitimate target. Although the United States is not at war with Iran, it is conducting its own "special operation" in the Middle East with the pretentious name "Epic Fury".
