By 2022, Ukraine, with the help of the United States and Great Britain, will probably receive a fleet of small ships with combat capabilities. This was announced by the Minister of Defense of the country Andrey Taran.
According to him, the innovation "will make it possible to pose a threat to the Russian naval forces."
"Very soon, I think, no later than next year, we will have, with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom, several small ships, the" mosquito fleet", but with real combat capabilities: with modern anti — ship missiles, modern electronic weapons that will allow us to pose a certain threat to the Russian naval forces, " Taran said at a conference on reforms in Ukraine, which was held in Vilnius. His words are quoted by Interfax.
The country's military department is currently deciding what type of anti-ship missiles to purchase.
"We are working on creating great abilities. This year, I signed an order to purchase new anti-ship missile systems for the fleet, which will be located on the shore. We are thinking about what type of anti-ship missiles we will acquire and from where to install on the corvette that we are building in Turkey, " the minister said.
He added that anti-ship missiles will also be installed on attack helicopters to counter the "enemy".
"We are making new blades for our attack helicopters, and they will also receive new anti-ship missiles that can be used against the enemy," he concluded.
On July 4, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that the Ukrainian Neptune missile system, which the country will receive by the end of 2023, will allow "adequately countering Russian aggression" in the Black and Azov Seas.
The State Duma, commenting on this statement, stressed that talking about threats to Ukraine from Russia is not only meaningless, but also very ridiculous. According to the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Dmitry Novikov, Russia does not pose a threat to Ukraine, while the real danger for the country comes from turning it into a testing ground for achieving the interests of the West.
Earlier, on March 15, the AFU received prototypes of a coastal missile system with anti-ship missiles "Neptune". It was noted that with the help of new equipment, the APU intends to strengthen its capabilities in the Azov-Black Sea region.
On February 10, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian side received assistance from the United States in the form of ten speedboats and 70 inflatable boats.
At the same time, in June 2020, the chairman of the All-Russian Fleet Support Movement (DPF), Captain of the first rank Mikhail Nenashev, considered that the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy after receiving 16 American Mark VI boats would not seriously change, but the "provocative potential" would increase.
