Zelenskyy wants to deploy ships and naval forces in Britain and Turkey – addresses the Rada

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada draft law No. 14059, in which he asks for approval of his decree on the deployment of a number of Ukrainian Armed Forces ships and military personnel to the United Kingdom and Turkey. A card of this document has been published on the Parliament's website.

In the draft law, the president proposes to approve his decision to send units of the Ukrainian Navy to other countries.

135 million UAH of expenses related to the deployment and stay of units in Turkey and the UK are planned to be financed within the expenditures for the Ministry of Defense for 2025, according to an explanatory note from the head of the department Denys Shmyhal.

Zelenskyy wants to send only the Hetman Ivan Mazepa (Ada) corvette of the Navy to the Republic of Turkey, along with a full-time crew of up to 106 servicemen.

At the same time, the head of state plans to deploy five ships with crews and one naval command to the United Kingdom.

We are talking about the following mine countermeasures ships: Cherkasy and Chernihiv (Sandown type); Mariupol, Melitopol and Henichesk (Alkmaar type). The regular crew of each of them is up to 39 servicemen.

Also, according to the document, it is planned to deploy the first division of the Navy's Flotilla of mine countermeasures ships, consisting of up to 20 servicemen, on British territory. According to publicly available data, the permanent location of this department is the city of Odesa.

The deployment of these units to Turkey and the UK "will ensure the implementation of measures related to national security and defense, repulsion and deterrence of armed aggression against Ukraine, protection of its sovereignty and territorial integrity," the Defense Minister said in an explanatory note.

According to Shmyhal, this relocation will also facilitate the receipt of military equipment from partners, manning these units with personnel and relevant equipment, the development and preparation for use of which "requires long training cycles."

According to the Rada's website, the draft law has now been sent to the relevant Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence for consideration. The Head of State has identified this document as urgent.

If adopted, the draft law will come into force on the date of publication.

• On August 28, the Russian Defense Ministry boasted that a Russian naval drone at the mouth of the Danube River had hit and allegedly sunk the Ukrainian reconnaissance ship Simferopol. Ukrainian navy confirmed the attack and the death of one crew member at that time. The next day it became known about two fallen defenders and several missing persons.
• The Navy spokesman said that Russia has long been using unmanned boats (naval drones) against Ukraine, but for the most part, such strikes were not effective.