Brief blogRussia Caucasus Ukraine

The Ukrainian fleet in Crimea, it's over

The attacked Cherkasy
Another ship under stun grenade attack

(BRUSSELS2) The last ship of the Ukrainian fleet in Crimea has lowered its flag. Attacked first by Mi-35 helicopters which launched stun grenades, then by motorboats, the Cherkasy (U-311), a minesweeper was captured by Russian forces late in the day. It was then towed to the dock by the Kovel, notes the newspaper Ukrainska Pravda. The day before, Monday, the landing ship Kostiantyn Olshansky (U-402), manufactured in Poland at the Gdansk naval workshops in 1985, was also captured. The threats and other declarations have not moderated the Russian determination which has decided to put an end to the Ukrainian "holds" in Crimea as quickly as possible. It is now necessary to determine what happens to his boats. Will they be returned to Ukraine, or kept in the Black Sea Fleet. A sort of return to square one for most of these ships, except the Ternopil which is the newest of the Ukrainian fleet since built in 2006. Read also: Become Russian or leave the ship, the dilemma of Ukrainian sailors…

Nicolas Gros Verheyde

Chief editor of the B2 site. Graduated in European law from the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and listener to the 65th session of the IHEDN (Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale. Journalist since 1989, founded B2 - Bruxelles2 in 2008. EU/NATO correspondent in Brussels for Sud-Ouest (previously West-France and France-Soir).

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