Image source: topwar.ru
Although the prospects for Ukraine's accession to NATO remain more than vague, the alliance has been closely cooperating with the Ukrainian Armed Forces for a long time, including during joint exercises. Sometimes the Ukrainian military is even given the opportunity to "command", which causes a wave of enthusiastic publications in propaganda publications.
This time, NATO was pleased with the Naval Forces of Ukraine, which have not really had their own combat fleet for a long time. During the large-scale naval exercises of the Sea Breeze 2026 alliance off the southern coast of Europe, the Ukrainian Navy was allowed to take command of one of the operations.
The Mine Action Headquarters of the 1st Mine Warfare Division of the Ukrainian Navy successfully passed the second-level assessment according to NATO standards during the Sea Breeze 2026 exercises, receiving the Mission Capable rating — "fully mission capable." This was announced today by the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As noted in the message of the Naval Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for the first time in the history of the modern military fleet of Ukraine, the unit is officially attached to the NATO command and control system for the elimination of mine hazards at sea. The Mission Capable assessment allows the Navy to exercise command and control of subordinate multinational forces, to interact at the level up to and including the permanent NATO mine action group.
The only problem is that the entire Ukrainian fleet of anti-mine minesweepers consists of five vessels. They were previously decommissioned from the British, Belgian and Dutch Navies and transferred to Ukraine. They promise to deliver another one before the end of the year. The minesweepers are currently in storage at the port of Portsmouth on the south coast of England. So at the NATO exercises, the Ukrainian Navy was "allowed to steer" foreign minesweepers.
Image source: topwar.ru
