The Military Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Військо́во-морські́ си́ли Збро́йних сил Украї́ни, ВМС ЗСУ) is the

maritime forces Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prin ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and one of the five

branches A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term ''twig'' usually r ...

of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine , imports = , exports = , history = , ranks = Military ranks of Ukraine , country=Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Збро́йні си́ли Украї́ни), most commonly known ...

. The naval forces consist of five components – surface forces, submarine forces,

naval aviation Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

, coastal rocket-artillery and naval infantry. As of 2022, the Ukrainian navy had 15,000 personnel, including 6,000 naval infantry. In 2015, the Ukrainian navy had 6,500 personnel. In 2007 and prior to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea, 15,470 people served in the Ukrainian navy. The

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

of the Ukrainian Naval Forces was, until the

2014 Crimean crisis In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The Revolution of Dign ...

, located at

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. The naval forces were highly affected by the Crimean crisis, as the majority of their units were stationed there. Ships that did not escape or were not deployed at the time lowered their flags and were interned. Russia began a process of returning the vessels but stopped, citing the inability of Ukraine to retake possession and alleged violence against Russians in the Donbas. The ships that were returned were the older models of the fleet which were deemed obsolete. For example, Russia chose not to return the

corvette A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper (or " rated") warship. The warship class above the corvette is that of the frigate, while the class below was historically that of the slo ...

s and , both of which were some of the newest ships of the Ukrainian fleet. However, none of the Ukrainian naval units retained were absorbed into the Russian Navy. Ukraine had been scheduling to rebuild its naval forces since 2005 by building the domestic project 58250, the first Ukrainian designed and built corvette, as well as ordering four patrol boats in 2013 from Willard Marine. Ukraine has also restarted the production of its Gryuza River Armed Artillery Boat. The navy operates in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

basin (including the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

and

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Delta). Distant operations of the Ukrainian Navy are limited to multinational activities, such as

Operation Active Endeavour Operation Active Endeavour was a maritime operation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It operated in the Mediterranean Sea and was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction. It had collateral benefit ...

and

Operation Atalanta Operation Atalanta, formally European Union Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia, is a current counter-piracy military operation at sea off the Horn of Africa and in the Western Indian Ocean, that is the first naval operation conducted by the E ...

in the Mediterranean and

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. The Ukrainian flagship was scuttled in March 2022 during Russia's invasion to prevent its capture and Russia's navy blocked Ukraine's access to the Black Sea from that point onwards.

History

Zaporizhian (Ukrainian) Cossacks Fleet ca. 1600s

The Ukrainian Naval Forces trace their origins to the

Zaporizhian Sich The Zaporozhian Sich ( ua, Запорозька Січ, ; also uk, Вольностi Вiйська Запорозького Низового, ; Free lands of the Zaporozhian Host the Lower) was a semi-autonomous polity and proto-state of C ...

Cossacks, who would frequently raid Ottoman settlements along the Black Sea coast. Cossacks used small ships called ''chaikas'', which were similar in design to Viking long ships. Although technologically inferior to the Turks, the Cossacks had great success against their opponent. In 1614, the Cossack forces were able to raid and destroy

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

. In 1615, the Cossacks were able to mount a raid on

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

itself, destroying several suburbs of the city. In 1616, a Cossack fleet was able to reach the Bosphorus, once again raiding the surrounding countryside. A Turkish fleet sent to destroy the Cossack forces was defeated in 1617. The Cossacks once again managed to mount an attack on Istanbul in 1625, forcing the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

to temporarily flee the capital. The Cossacks used several strategies to attack the larger Ottoman forces, such as positioning their ships during battle in a way where the sun was always at their back. The Cossack ships were small with a low profile, making them hard to hit by cannon. Cossacks were typically armed with small arm muskets, and during battle had the goal of killing the crew and boarding the ship to take it over, rather than sinking the ship.

Ukrainian People's Republic navy (1917–1921)

During 1917 Russian Revolution, several ships of the Russian Imperial Navy's Black Sea Fleet, commanded and crewed by ethnic Ukrainians, declared themselves the Navy of the newly autonomous

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

. Black Sea Fleet commander

Mikhail Sablin Mikhail Pavlovich Sablin (russian: Михаил Павлович Саблин, ua, Миха́йло Па́влович Са́блін) (June 17, 1869 - October 17, 1920), was an admiral in the Imperial Russian Navy, the first independent Ukrainia ...

raised the colours of the Ukrainian National Republic on 29 April 1918. Few further steps on establishing a navy were made as the Ukrainian government lost control over coastal territories. After the Revolution 1917, a time of anarchy and demoralization overtook the former Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Fleet, stationed in

, was commanded by a collective, "Tsentroflot". Different political influences clashed: Ukrainian,

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

Menshevik The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions eme ...

Social Revolutionaries Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political syst ...

and

Anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

. Very different flags were hoisted over ships: Ukrainian bicolors, old Russian ensigns, Bolshevist red flags and Anarchist black flags. They were hoisted and lowered even several times daily, according to changes of each crew's political orientation. The Ukrainian People's Republic aspired to take control of the Fleet. On 17 October 1917 the 2nd rank Captain Ye.Akimov was appointed the representative of the

Central Council of Ukraine The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

at the command of the Black Sea Fleet. The General Secretariat for Naval Affairs was established within the government of the

Central Rada The Central Council of Ukraine ( uk, Українська Центральна Рада, ) (also called the Tsentralna Rada or the Central Rada) was the All-Ukrainian council (soviet) that united deputies of soldiers, workers, and peasants deputie ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

(in January 1918 it was reformed in a Ministry). The head of it became D. Antonovich. The Main Navy Staff was led by Captain Jerzy Świrski. For the educational and agitational purposes of the seamen the Central Rada seconded the commissars to

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...

Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( uk, Миколаїв, ) is a city and municipality in Southern Ukraine, the administrative center of the Mykolaiv Oblast. Mykolaiv city, which provides Ukraine with access to the Black Sea, is the location of the most downriver brid ...

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

and Sevastopol. On 22 December 1917 the Naval Ministry in Kyiv was established. Starting October 1917 the crews of the ships established military councils; the blue-yellow flags were flying from the masts. The ships Zavidniy (Enviable) and Russian cruiser Pamiat Merkuria (1907) were the first examples. In November 1917 in Sevastopol was established the Sahaidachny Sea Battalion (

kurin Kurin ( uk, курінь, translit=Kurin') has two definitions: a military and administrative unit of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Black Sea Cossack Host, and others; and of a type of housing (see below). In the administrative definition, a kurin us ...

) which on 24 November 1917 was sent to Kyiv to extinguish Bolshevik uprisings and participated in the

Kiev Arsenal January Uprising Kyiv Arsenal January Uprising ( uk, Січневе повстання, translit=Sichneve povstannya), sometimes called simply the January Uprising or the January Rebellion, was the Bolshevik-organized workers' armed revolt that started on Ja ...

. On 22 November 1917 the whole crew of the newest and most powerful warship of the Black Sea Fleet ''Volya'' swore fealty to the Central Rada, followed soon by several ships and submarines. In December 1917 the Black Seas Fleet squadron under Ukrainian flags led by the

Russian battleship Imperator Aleksandr III , Ship acquired=From Imperial Germany on 24 November 1918 , Ship operator=Royal Navy , Ship fate=Returned to the White Army on 1 November 1919. Renamed ''General Alekseyev''. ''Imperator Aleksandr III'' (''Emperor Alexander III'') was the thi ...

and included another cruiser and three destroyers participated in the evacuation of the 127th Infantry Division from Trabzon back to

. On 29 December 1917 most of the Black Sea Fleet was taken over by Bolsheviks. As part of

Operation Faustschlag The Operation Faustschlag ("Operation Fist Punch"), also known as the Eleven Days' War, Mawdsley (2007), p. 35 was a Central Powers offensive in World War I. It was the last major action on the Eastern Front. Russian forces were unable to put ...

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

forces had been advancing on Sevastopol with a goal to capture the Black Sea Fleet. Having no support from the land forces, Admiral Sablin was forced enter negotiations regarding cessation of hostilities. The

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

however rejected the armistice proposals and the advance continued. In April 1918 German and Ukrainian troops invaded Crimea. On 29 April 1918, fleet-commanding Rear-admiral Sablin (Russian) gave an order to hoist Ukrainian national flags over all ships in Sevastopol (the medal to the right commemorates that event). That day he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Navy. A telegram to Kyiv was sent from the staff ship ''Georgiy Pobedonosets'' “Effective today the Sevastopol fortress and the Fleet in Sevastopol raised the Ukrainian flag. Admiral Sablin assumed the command of the Fleet”. Having no reply the admiral ordered to repeat the telegram beginning with the words “Comrades of Kiev Central Rada...”. Sablin was unaware that at that moment the Central Rada in Kyiv was already history. The Germans started to occupy Sevastopol, because the Bolsheviks began to lead away ships. Centroflot (the combined fleet revolutionary committee), in order to save the Fleet, took a decision to move it to

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

. But on 30 April 1918, only the small part of the fleet under command of Admiral Sablin, which trusted the Bolsheviks, headed for Novorossiysk and hoisted Russian St. Andrew (saltire) ensigns. The greater part of the Ukrainian fleet remained in Sevastopol – there were 30 destroyers and torpedo boats, 25 auxiliaries, 7 battleships and small craft as well as 15 submarines left in Sevastopol under Admiral Myhaylo Ostrogradskiy who in this situation assumed command. On 1 May 1918 Germans captured the ships remaining in Sevastopol, because the actions of Bolsheviks violated the peace agreement. On 17 June 1918, 1 dreadnought and 6 destroyers returned from Novorossiysk to Sevastopol, where they were also captured. The greater part of the ships remaining in Novorossiysk were destroyed by their own crews on

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

's command. In July–November 1918 Germans gradually transferred many ships to the command of Ukrainian government (

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

Pavlo Skoropadskyi Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi ( uk, Павло Петрович Скоропадський, Pavlo Petrovych Skoropadskyi; – 26 April 1945) was a Ukrainian aristocrat, military and state leader, decorated Imperial Russian Army and Ukrainian Army ...

). The main Ukrainian sea power concentrated in Odesa and Mykolaiv was more than 20 minesweepers, 7 small cruisers, 1 dreadnought and more than 30 auxiliaries. In Sevastopol there were only 2 old battleships under Ukrainian flags. On 18 July 1918 the Naval Ministry in Kyiv established new naval ensigns and some rank flags (e.g. flag of Naval Minister, flag of Deputy Minister). The old Russian jack remained as Ukrainian naval jack. It was regarded as symbol of glory of Black Sea Fleet, whose crews were in large part previously Ukrainian. On 17 September Germans gives Ukraine 17 U-boats. In December 1918, when naval forces of the Entente were approaching Sevastopol, Ukrainian Rear-admiral V. Klokhkovskyy commanded all ships to hoist Russian St. Andrew (saltire) ensigns. It was a demonstration of good intentions for the Entente. However, the Entente captured the Black Sea Fleet and subsequently transferred it to the Russian "White" forces. In Ukrainian hands remained only small in numbers subdivisions of marines. Ukrainian naval authorities existed until 1921.

List of Ukrainian ships

The Ukrainian People's Republic had a navy for five months. From October 1917 till March 1918 the following came to be at the disposal of the Ukrainians: nine

battleships A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type o ...

, seven cruisers, 18

destroyers In navy, naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a Naval fleet, fleet, convoy or Carrier battle group, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attack ...

, 14 submarines, 16 patrol ships and avisos, 11 military transports and mother ships. Additionally, the Fleet's Headquarters, all military institutions and plants and all coastal fortifications were all manned by Ukrainian personnel. Baltic Fleet * Soviet cruiser ''Krasnyi Krym'' (October 12, 1917) * Russian destroyer ''Ukraina'' (October 12, 1917) * Russian destroyer ''Haidamak'' (October 12, 1917) Black Sea Fleet * Russian battleship ''Georgii Pobedonosets'' (November 9, 1917) * Russian cruiser ''Pamiat Merkuria'' (November 12, 1917) * Russian destroyer ''Zorkiy'' (November 12, 1917) * Russian destroyer ''Zvonkiy'' (November 12, 1917) * Russian Battleship ''Volya'' (previously ''Imperator Aleksandr III'') (November 22, 1917) * Russian battleship ''Imperatritsa Ekaterina Velikaya''

Contemporary Navy of Ukraine

Independence and the "Battle for the oath"

The origins of the contemporary Ukrainian Naval Forces intertwined with the fate of the

Soviet Black Sea Fleet Chernomorskiy flot , image = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Great emblem of the Black Sea fleet , dates = May 13, ...

and with the modern history of the

. Following the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

(1991), the administration of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Soviet Armed Forces, the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union and as the Red Army (, Вооружённые Силы Советского Союза), were the armed forces of the Russian SFSR (1917–1922), the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and th ...

passed to the Joint Armed Forces of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. ...

(CIS) for a transitional period pending agreement on the division of the ex-Soviet military between members of the

former Soviet Union The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

Marshal of Aviation Marshal of the branch (or "marshal of the branch of service"; russian: Ма́ршал ро́да во́йск, Marshal roda voysk) was from 1943 to 1974 the designation to a separate rank class in the general officer's rank group of the form ...

Yevgeny Shaposhnikov Yevgeny Ivanovich Shaposhnikov (russian: Евгений Иванович Шапошников; 3 February 1942 – 8 December 2020) was a Soviet and Russian military leader and business figure. He was awarded the rank of Marshal of Aviation in ...

became commander of the Joint CIS Armed Forces command on 14 February 1992. On 6 December 1991 the

Supreme Council of Ukraine The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

(Verkhovna Rada) adopted a resolution on the laws of Ukraine "About the Defense of Ukraine" and "About the Armed Forces of Ukraine", as well as the text of a military oath. On the same day, in the

parliament of Ukraine The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

chamber, the

Minister of Defense of Ukraine The Minister of Defence ( uk, Міністр оборони, translit=Ministr oborony) is the defence minister of Ukraine and head of the Ministry of Defence, which is in charge of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the second-largest military power ...

, Kostyantyn Morozov, became the first person to take the oath. On 10 December 1991 the Supreme Council of Ukraine ratified the

Belavezha Accords The Belovezh Accords ( be, Белавежскае пагадненне, link=no, russian: Беловежские соглашения, link=no, uk, Біловезькі угоди, link=no) are accords forming the agreement declaring that the ...

. On 12 December 1991 the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

issued

ukase In Imperial Russia, a ukase () or ukaz (russian: указ ) was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader ( patriarch) that had the force of law. " Edict" and "decree" are adequate translations using the terminology and concep ...

#4, ordering all military formations based in Ukraine to pledge allegiance by 20 January 1992. The vast majority of the Black Sea Fleet ignored the order. On 1 January 1992 the newspaper ''Vympyel'' of the Black Sea Fleet

Filipp Oktyabrskiy Filipp Sergeyevich Oktyabrsky (russian: Филипп Серге́евич Октябрьский, real surname: Ivanov - Иванов; – 8 July 1969, Sevastopol) was a Soviet naval commander. He began service in the Baltic Fleet in 1918. Fro ...

Training unit (edited by Captain-Lieutenant Mykola Huk) published the military oath and the anthem of Ukraine in the

Ukrainian language Ukrainian ( uk, украї́нська мо́ва, translit=ukrainska mova, label=native name, ) is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family. It is the native language of about 40 million people and the official state langu ...

. On 3 January 1992 Ukraine started the practical formation of its national armed forces. On 8 January 1992 the Officers' Assembly of the Black Sea Fleet appealed to all leaders of the CIS to recognise the Black Sea Fleet as an operational-strategic formation and not subordinate to Ukraine. On 12 January 1992, the brigade of border troops in

Balaklava Balaklava ( uk, Балаклáва, russian: Балаклáва, crh, Balıqlava, ) is a settlement on the Crimean Peninsula and part of the city of Sevastopol. It is an administrative center of Balaklava Raion that used to be part of the Cri ...

(Sevastopol) became the first military formation to pledge allegiance to Ukraine. On 14 January 1992 the Governor of Sevastopol appealed to the Supreme Councils of both Ukraine and the Russian Federation, urging faster adoption of a decision on the status of the Black Sea Fleet. On 16 January 1992, an agreement between the CIS members was signed on the oath in strategic formations. On 18 January 1992, the 3rd company of the divers school became the first formation of the Black Sea Fleet to pledge their allegiance to Ukraine, along with the Maritime Department of the Sevastopol Institute of Instrument Engineering. On the next day, forty-six naval pilots pledged their allegiance to Ukraine at the central square (''Ploshcha Lenina'') of Mykolaiv. Black Sea Fleet military personnel previously under the oath of the Soviet Armed Forces did not hasten to pledge allegiance to the newly formed state. First Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Fleet Admiral

Ivan Kapitanets Ivan Matveyevich Kapitanets (Russian: Ива́н Матве́евич Капита́нец; 10 January 1928 – 25 September 2018) Right before the Soviet Army and Navy Day (23 February) on 22 February, the 880th Independent Naval Infantry Battalion of Black Sea Fleet pledged allegiance to Ukraine. The battalion had been recognized as the best formation of the fleet in 1991. The Main Navy Staff in Moscow issued an order to dissolve the battalion. After the incident, all military units of the Black Sea Fleet recruited exclusively Russians. According to estimations by the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

, in January 1992 the Black Sea Fleet accounted for 80,000 servicemen, 69 major warships including 3 aircraft carriers, 6 missile cruisers, 29 submarines, 235 warplanes and helicopters, and great number of ships of auxiliary fleet.What is Black Sea Fleet Worth?
"Forum, a Ukrainian review" at Diasporiana. No.86. Summer, 1992. page 35. Without informing Ukraine with which it supposed to share control over the Black Sea Fleet in a framework of the Joint Armed Forces Command, the Russian Federation was selling away several ships. From the beginning, relationships between the newly formed states of Russia Federation and the Republic of Ukraine were tense. In January 1992 the

Supreme Soviet of Russia The Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR (russian: Верховный Совет РСФСР, ''Verkhovny Sovet RSFSR''), later Supreme Soviet of the Russian Federation (russian: Верховный Совет Российской Федерации, ...

raised the question of the political status of Crimea (

Crimean ASSR During the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, different governments existed within the Crimean Peninsula. From 1921 to 1936, the government in the Crimean Peninsula was known as the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic; ...

) and of the constitutionality of the 1954 decision to transfer of

Crimean Oblast During the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, different governments existed within the Crimean Peninsula. From 1921 to 1936, the government in the Crimean Peninsula was known as the Crimean Autonomous Socialist Soviet Republic; ...

of the

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

to the

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

, accusing

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and chairman of the country's Council of Ministers from 1958 to 1964. During his rule, Khrushchev s ...

of treason against the Russian people. Although never annulled, many Russian parliamentarians refused to recognize the legal document, pointing out the procedural errors during its adoption. The Ukrainian side issued reminders of the number of international treaties and agreements between the two countries, such as the 19 November 1990 treaty between the Russian SFSR and the Ukrainian SSR, in which both sides recognized the territorial integrity of the other, as well as the Belavezha Accords (an agreement on creation of the CIS) of 8 December 1991 and the

Alma-Ata Protocol The Alma-Ata Protocols were the founding declarations and principles of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus had agreed to the Belovezh Accords on 8 December 1991, dissolving the Soviet Union ...

of 21 December 1991. Noticing not much reaction from the Black Sea Fleet command located on the territory of Ukraine, on 5 April 1992 the President of Ukraine issued Decree #209 "About urgent measures on development of the Armed Forces of Ukraine", which accused the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

and the Joint Armed Forces command of intervening in the internal affairs of Ukraine. On 6 April 1992, a session of the 6th Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian SFSR refused to accept the Belavezha agreement as previously ratified by the Supreme Council of the Russian SFSR (on 12 December 1991). Also, on 6 April 1992, the President of Ukraine appointed Borys Kozhyn as the Commander of Ukrainian Naval Forces. The next day, the

President of Russia The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

issued a Decree "On the transfer of the Black Sea Fleet under jurisdiction of the Russian Federation". On 9 April 1992, the effect of both decrees were suspended until the end of the Russian-Ukrainian talks.

Ukrainian division of the Black Sea Fleet (1991–1997)

In September 1991, an office of the Society of Ukrainian Officers was opened in Sevastopol on the initiative of Major Volodymyr Kholodyuk and captains-lieutenant

Ihor Tenyukh Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh ( uk, Ігор Йосипович Тенюх; born 23 May 1958) is a former Ukrainian admiral and member of the nationalist Svoboda political party. He was the commander of the Ukrainian Navy from 2006 until 2010 when di ...

and Mykola Huk. The society became the initiator and nucleus of the organization of the Ukrainian Naval Forces. On 7 April 1992 at 17:00, 37 officers of the administration and headquarters of the Crimean Naval Base (an administrative entity and not a physical "base") pledged their allegiance and loyalty to people of Ukraine. Rear Admiral Borys Kozhyn, who was in charge, was not present at that time of the event. He was in the office of

Ivan Yermakov Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

accepting a proposition of the First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of Ukraine to become the commander of the future Ukrainian Naval Forces. On 8 April 1992 the Minister of Defense signed a directive "About creation of the Ukrainian Naval Forces". On 13 April 1992 an organizational group was established on creation of the Ukrainian Naval Forces, which upset the command of the Black Sea Fleet. The current history of the Ukrainian Naval Forces began on 1 August 1992, when it was formally established by order of the President of Ukraine

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

. This was followed by a long and controversial partition of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet between newly independent Ukraine and the Russian Federation. SKR-112-Ukraine

One of the episodes of this process was the story of '' SKR-112'' – effectively the first Ukrainian Navy ship. On 20 July 1992, the crew of ''SKR-112'' declared itself a Ukrainian ship and raised the Ukrainian flag. The Navy headquarters in Moscow considered this a

mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military, of a crew or of a crew of pirates) to oppose, change, or overthrow an organization to which they were previously loyal. The term is commonly used for a rebellion among member ...

and attempted to act accordingly. The ship left its base on the Crimean peninsula bound for

, causing a chase and ramming attempts by ships still loyal to Moscow. Soon several other ships, auxiliary vessels, and coastal units of the Black Sea Fleet followed ''SKR-112''s decision but with less violent outcomes. It was only in 1997 that the ships and equipment of the Black Sea Fleet were officially divided between the two countries. The new Russian formation retained its historic name "Black Sea Fleet". Under the terms of a negotiated lease agreement it was also granted rights to use the majority of its bases on the Crimea Peninsula, Ukraine on a renewable ten-year

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

basis at least until 2017. The newly established Ukrainian Naval Forces received dozens of vessels (mostly obsolete or inoperative, not unlike some of those retained by Russia) and some shore-based infrastructure. The Russian Navy lost several important facilities, most notably the ''NITKA'' (Russian acronym for "Scientific testing simulator for shipborne aviation")

training facility in

Saky Saky (: ; crh, Saq) or Saki is a town of regional significance in Ukraine, in the Crimean peninsula. Although it is the administrative centre of the Saky Raion, it does not belong to the raion (district), serving instead as the center and th ...

, and the

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

base in

Ochakiv Ochakiv, also known as Ochakov ( uk, Оча́ків, ; russian: Очаков; crh, Özü; ro, Oceacov and ''Vozia'', and Alektor ( in Greek), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the admini ...

. The process of fleet division remained painful since many aspects of the two navies' co-existence were under-regulated, causing recurring conflicts.

Lack of financing and neglect (1998–2014)

From 1997 due to lack of financing and neglect most of the Ukrainian naval units have been scrapped or poorly maintained. By 2009, only the

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied somewhat. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and ...

, originally built to be a Soviet Border Guards ship, was capable of long endurance missions. Joint exercises of the Ukrainian Naval Forces and the Russian Black Sea Fleet resumed after a seven-year interval in 2010. Most of the Ukrainian naval assets, as those of the other branches of the armed forces, comprised mainly

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

-era equipment. No major plan for modernization emerged, except for a new corvette design completed in 2009 but not built. On 19 December 2008,

United States Ambassador to Ukraine The history of ambassadors of the United States to Ukraine began in 1992. Until 1991, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a constituent SSR of the Soviet Union. History Upon the breakup of the USSR, the parliament of Ukraine declar ...

William B. Taylor, Jr. William Brockenbrough Taylor Jr. (born September 14, 1947) is an American diplomat, government official, and former military officer. He served as the 6th United States ambassador to Ukraine from 2006 to 2009 under President Bush and Obama, and ...

stated that Ukrainian Defense Minister

Yuriy Yekhanurov Yuriy Ivanovych Yekhanurov ( uk, Юрій Іванович Єхануров, ; born August 23, 1948) is a Ukrainian politician who was Prime Minister of Ukraine from 2005 to 2006 and Minister of Defense from 2007 to 2009. Background and professi ...

and

US Defense Secretary The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The se ...

Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...

were discussing the purchase by Ukraine of one to three

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

frigates. In December 2009, the design for a new ''Volodymyr Velykyi''-class corvette (designed exclusively by Ukraine and to be built at Ukrainian shipyards) for the Ukrainian Naval Forces was completed. That month the Ukrainian defense ministry and Chernomorsky Shipyard (Mykolaiv) signed a contract upon results of the governmental tender for corvettes. The Shipbuilding Research and Design Center (Mykolaiv) was selected the project developer. If built, the ship was supposed to operate in the Black and the Mediterranean seas. Her endurance would be 30 days, and a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics * Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of 2,500 tons. Leading European arms manufacturers like DCNS, MBDA, and EuroTorp were to deliver weapons for the project. Commissioning of the lead ship was scheduled for 2016. There was a plan to build four corvettes before 2021. According to the corvette construction program approved by Ukrainian government in March 2011, the overall amount of program financing till 2021 would be about UAH 16.22 billion.

=Anti-piracy operations in Somalia

= A Ukrainian ship carrying military cargo was hijacked off the coast of Somalia on 23 September 2008. The ship was released on 6 February 2009. All commercial news sources reported that the vessel was released after a ransom had been paid. Ukrainian officials, however, stated that special forces eliminated the pirates and retook the ship. In October 2013 Ukraine deployed its

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...

, the frigate ''Hetman Sahaydachniy'', as part of NATO's

Operation Ocean Shield Operation Ocean Shield was NATO's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom – Horn of Africa (OEF-HOA), an anti-piracy initiative in the Indian Ocean, Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. It follows the earlier Operation Al ...

anti-piracy mission in the

Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden ( ar, خليج عدن, so, Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channe ...

. The ship was deployed for a 3-month mission and operated alongside the Norwegian frigate , the Royal

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

frigate , and the US Navy's frigate . The Naval Forces of Ukraine once again deployed ''Hetman Sahaydachniy'' with an anti-submarine

Ka-27 The Kamov Ka-27 ( NATO reporting name 'Helix') is a military helicopter developed for the Soviet Navy, and currently in service in various countries including Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, China, South Korea, and India. Variants include the Ka-2 ...

helicopter aboard to the coast of Somalia as part of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

on 3 January 2014. The ship was recalled on 3 March 2014 to Ukraine in response to the Crimea Crisis.

2014 Crimean crisis

Prior to the 2014 Crimean crisis, Ukraine maintained a very modest naval force for a nation that lacked shores with any of the world's oceans. The majority of the bases of the Ukrainian Navy, along with 12,000 of Ukraine's 15,450 Navy personnel were stationed in Crimea. On 24 March 2014, at least 12 of Ukraine's 17 ships in Sevastopol were seized by Russia, while the ensuing conflict saw two Ukrainian navy officers killed by Russian marines. Ukraine lost control of its Navy's main underground ammunition-storage site at the

Inkerman Inkerman ( uk, Інкерман, russian: Инкерман, crh, İnkerman) is a city in the Crimean peninsula. It is '' de facto'' within the federal city of Sevastopol within the Russian Federation, but '' de jure'' within Ukraine. It li ...

valley, outside Sevastopol, as well as of its helicopter-repair facilities. The Navy's 750-strong 1st Naval Infantry Battalion at

Feodosia uk, Феодосія, Теодосія crh, Kefe , official_name = () , settlement_type= , image_skyline = THEODOSIA 01.jpg , imagesize = 250px , image_caption = Genoese fortress of Caffa , image_shield = Fe ...

was arrested and its equipment seized. The Ukrainian Navy also lost all its

missile boat A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They a ...

s.Zelensky's Mosquito Fleet: Details of Negotiations with Britain Capable of Changing Ukrainian Navy

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(11 September 2020) In addition, 51 mainly auxiliaries ships were lost, though most were eventually returned to Ukraine after a brief internment. The

Ukrainian Naval Infantry The Ukrainian Naval Infantry Corps ( uk, Морська піхота України, translit=Morsʹka pikhota Ukrayiny), also known as the Ukrainian Marines, is part of coastal defense troops of the Ukrainian Navy. It is used as a component part o ...

was equally affected by the crisis as Russian forces besieged them within their bases. Russia eventually confiscated all military equipment of the naval infantry stationed in Crimea, including the assets of the

Ukrainian Naval Aviation The Ukrainian Naval Aviation ( ua, Морська Авіація, Morska Aviatsiya) is a component of the Ukrainian Navy. During the breakup of the Soviet Union, significant portions of the Soviet Naval Aviation were based in Ukraine, which were ...

, though several planes and helicopters managed to make their way to mainland Ukraine prior to the Russian incorporation of Crimea. The 10th Saky Naval Aviation Brigade, controlling all the Ukrainian Navy's air units, managed to get a number of its aircraft airborne to bases in mainland Ukraine on 5 March 2014. However, more than a dozen aircraft and helicopters undergoing maintenance had to be abandoned. In the aftermath, the Ukraine Navy relocated its main operational base to its Western Naval Base in Odesa. The current fleet consists of 11, mostly small operational ships, one frigate commissioned in 1993 and four corvettes. Russia also returned a to Ukraine, restoring Ukraine's amphibious assault capabilities. On 8 April 2014, an agreement was reached between Russia and Ukraine to return interned vessels to Ukraine and "for the withdrawal of an undisclosed number of Ukrainian aircraft seized in Crimea". Russian Navy sources had claimed the Ukrainian ships were "not operational because they are old, obsolete, and in poor condition". 35 ships were returned before Russia unilaterally suspended the return of the remainder, alleging that Ukraine had failed to renew its unilaterally declared ceasefire on 1 July 2014 in the

war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. 16 minor auxiliary ships are yet to be returned to Ukraine. The majority of the forces regrouped in Odesa, with the coast guard relocating its relatively small force to

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

on the Azov Sea. The frigate ''Hetman Sahaydachniy'' was recalled from a deployment along the Somalian coast and deployed from its port in Odesa to intercept Russian naval vessels crossing into Ukraine's waters on 14 March 2014. The remainder of Ukrainian naval forces continues to patrol the nation's territorial sea. On 11 January 2018, Russia stated that it was "ready to return Ukrainian military ships that are still in Crimea", along with "aviation equipment and armored vehicles."Putin says Russia ready to return Ukrainian military ships, aircraft left in Crimea

Ukrainian Independent Information Agency The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

(12 January 2018) On 29 April 2018

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

and

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Volodymyr Groysman Volodymyr Borysovych Groysman, sometimes transliterated as Volodymyr Borysovych Hroisman ( uk, Володи́мир Бори́сович Гро́йсман; born 20 January 1978), is a Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukrain ...

greeted Ukrainian Navy personnel on the 100th anniversary since the foundation of Ukraine's Navy. The Black Sea Fleet raised the colours of the Ukrainian National Republic on 29 April 1918. As of 2020, several captured ships of the Ukrainian Navy remain interned by Russia.

=Defections to Russia

= When Crimea was annexed by Russia, a number of Ukrainian Navy servicemen defected to Russia. Among those were members of the upper echelon of command of the Ukrainian Navy. The Ukrainian Navy compiled and released a list of their officers who defected to Russia, calling their actions treasonous. * Vice Admiral Sergei Yeliseyev, a first deputy commander and acting commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Navy from 19 February to 1 March 2014. * Rear Admiral Dmitriy Shakuro, a first deputy commander and chief of staff for the Ukrainian Navy. * Rear Admiral

Denis Berezovsky Denis Valentinovich Berezovsky ( ua, Денис Валентинович Березовський, russian: Дени́с Валенти́нович Березо́вский; born 15 July 1974) is a rear admiral and the Russian Black Sea Fleet d ...

, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Navy for one day, now a Black Sea Fleet deputy commander and chief of the combat training directorate. * Colonel Sergei Tarkhov, a chief of staff assistant in organization and sustainment of international relations. * Michman Sergei Gorbachov, a sergeant major of the Ukrainian Navy. * Administrative command – 5 officers. * Operation command – 17 officers. * Intelligence command – 8 officers. * Finance – 6 officers.

War in Donbas and Black Sea incidents

Following the

Revolution of Dignity The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

and the annexation of Crimea, Russian military personnel emerged in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: Names of European cities in different languages (C–D), cities' alternat ...

and

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast ( uk, Луга́нська о́бласть, translit=Luhanska oblast; russian: Луганская область, translit=Luganskaya oblast; also referred to as Luhanshchyna, uk, Луга́нщина) is the easternmost oblast ...

s demanding independence from the rest of Ukraine resulting in the war in Donbas. Some coast guard forces that were stationed in Crimea relocated to Mariupol where they resumed patrolling the national border. Separatists have been active in the Azov Sea, which caused incidents with the coast guard. Special Purpose units of the navy are reported to have taken part to combat the separatists. On 18 August 2014, Alex Zinchenko of the 73rd Naval Center of Special Operations was the first member of the Ukrainian Navy killed during the war in Donbas while conducting an operation near Donetsk. Berdyansk damaged gunboat

On 27 January 2017, the Ukrainian diving support vessel ''Pochaiv'' was hit by sniper fire from the Tavrida drilling platform, operated by Chernomorneftegaz, seized by Russian forces in 2014. On 1 February 2017, a Ukrainian Navy An-26 transport aircraft came under small arms fire from Russian military personnel, stationed on a drill rig, while flying over the Odesa gas field in the Black Sea. This gas field is located within Ukraine's exclusive economic zone, not off the Crimean peninsula, which is also part of Ukraine's EEZ. While the rig in question has not been named, it was amongst those captured by Russian forces in the aftermath of the annexation of Crimea. According to the Ukrainian military, the plane was on a training flight and was hit by small caliber shells. On 25 November 2018 three Ukrainian navy vessels who attempted to redeploy from the

port Odesa to the Azov Sea port of

Berdyansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea o ...

were damaged and captured by the Russian FSB security service during the

Kerch Strait incident The Kerch Strait incident was an international incident that occurred on 25 November 2018 in the Kerch Strait, during which the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) coast guard fired upon and captured three Ukrainian Navy vessels after they ...

. During the summer of 2019, Russia issued a number of temporary closures, potentially interrupting navigation and nearly blocking international shipping to and from Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Since 25 July 2009, the Russia closures – announced for varying dates and timeframes – covered a total of off 120 thousand square kilometers—nearly 25 percent of the entire Black Sea surface. In August 2019, the Ukrainian Navy small reconnaissance ship during their trip to Georgia to participate in exercise Agile Spirit 2019 and while in neutral waters, crew received a warning over the radio from a Russian navy ship. The Russians warned that the Ukrainians needed to turn away because the area was allegedly blocked. International coordinators did not confirm that fact, so the captain of the Pereyaslav decided to maintain the vessel along its original course. Soon thereafter, the Kasimov, a large Russian anti-submarine corvette, Project 1124M/Grisha V-class, was spotted near the Ukrainian ship. The Russian corvette's aggressive behavior only ceased when a Turkish reconnaissance plane arrived close to the Pereyaslav. On 14 November 2019, during the Third International Conference for Maritime Security, in Odesa, Ukrainian Navy commander Admiral Ihor Voronchenko said that a Russian Tu-22M3 had been observed simulating the launch of a missile strike on this coastal city, Voronchenko added that Russian bombers had made several similar attempts during exercises on 10 July, conducting a virtual airstrike 60 kilometers from Odesa.

Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 3 March 2022, it was reported that the was scuttled in the port of Mykolaiv to prevent its capture by Russian forces. On the same day the patrol boat ''Slavyansk'' was sunk by an anti-ship missile of Russian naval aviation. On March 14, the Russian source RT reported that the Russian Armed Forces had captured about a dozen Ukrainian ships in Berdyansk. The vessels reported as captured included two ''Gyurza-M''-class artillery vessels (including the vessel ''Akkerman''), the ''Matka''-class missile boat ''Pryluky'', a ''Project 1124P'' (''Grisha II'')-class corvette (the ''Vinnytsia'', a museum ship), a ''Zhuk''-class patrol boat, a ''Yevgenya''-class minesweeper, the ''Polnocny''-class landing ship ''Yuri Olefirenko'' and a ''Ondatra''-class landing craft. Independent confirmation of these captures was secured except for those of the ''Pryluky'', the ''Grisha'', the ''Yevgenya'', the ''Yuri Olefirenko'' and the ''Ondatra''. In addition, independent confirmation of the capture of another ''Zhuk''-class patrol boat and 6 small boats was secured. These smaller boats were one ''Adamant 315''-class motor yacht, 3 ''Kalkan-M''-class small patrol boats and 2 ''UMS 1000''-class small patrol boats. The Naval Infantry has fought in the current conflict, contributing forces to some of the major land battles of the war, especially in the south. On June 3, 2022, the landing ship ''Yuri Olefirenko'' was seen under Ukrainian control near Ochakiv (between Mykolaiv and Odesa) after being targeted by Russian artillery. Rounds landed within 200 ft of the ship but caused no damage. Russia claimed to have captured the ship in Berdyansk early into the conflict. On June 22, 2022, BBC published a report showing Royal Navy personnel training Ukrainian Navy personnel on two former Royal Navy Sandown Class Minehunters. The two ships ex- HMS ''Blyth'' and ex- HMS ''Ramsey'' were offered to Ukraine in 2021. However, in October 2022 it was reported that both ships would be transferred to the

Romanian Navy The Romanian Navy ( ro, Forțele Navale Române) is the navy branch of the Romanian Armed Forces; it operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flot ...

instead. The HMS ''Shoreham'' was also supposed to be handed over to the Ukrainian Navy.

Organisation

Current role

The Naval Forces of the

are tasked with the defense of the sovereignty and state interests of Ukraine at sea. They are required to neutralize enemy naval groups in their operational zone both alone and with other branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and to provide assistance from the sea to the

Ground Forces An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

during their operations. Main tasks of the Navy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are the: * creation and maintenance of combat forces on a level sufficient to deter maritime aggression; * neutralization of enemy naval forces; * destruction of enemy transportation; * support of the landing of amphibious forces and fight against enemy amphibious forces; * maintenance of a beneficial operational regime in the operational zone; * defense of its bases, sea lines of communications; * protection of submarine space within the territorial sea; * protection of the merchant fleet, maritime oil and gas industry, and other state maritime activity; * assistance to the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in their conduct of operations (military actions) along maritime axes; * participation in peacekeeping operations.

Bases

The headquarters and Main Naval Base of the Ukrainian Navy were located in Sevastopol in Striletska Bay within the Bay of Sevastopol. This was also the main base of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. Since February–March 2014 Ukrainian Naval Forces are headquartered in Odesa and based in ports in mainland Ukraine.

Other naval bases

* Western Naval Base in Odesa * Southern Naval Base in Mykolaiv (mooring place in

) * Azov Naval Base, in Berdyansk (mooring places in

Henichesk Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre ...

and Mariupol, late September 2018 two Ukrainian vessels departed from Odesa, passed the Crimean Bridge and arrived Mariupol) (lost) * Southern Naval Base in

at:

Novoozerne Novoozerne ( uk, Новоозерне; russian: Новоозёрное, translit=Novoozyornoye; crh, Novoozörnoye) is an urban-type settlement in the Yevpatoria municipality of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a territory recognized by a majo ...

Yevpatoria Yevpatoria ( uk, Євпаторія, Yevpatoriia; russian: Евпатория, Yevpatoriya; crh, , , gr, Ευπατορία) is a city of regional significance in Western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative ...

in Donuzlav Lake) (lost)

List of Commanders

Ranks and insignia

Structure

Naval Command

Naval Command (Military Unit UА0456), Odesa, Odesa Oblast * Staff of the Naval Command, Odesa * Training Command of the Ukrainian Navy, Odesa * Logistics Command of the Ukrainian Navy, Odesa * Seaborne Operational Center of the Ukrainian Navy, Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast Directly subordinated units and establishments: * Headquarters support units: ** 19th Combat Command and Control Group (MU А0524), Odesa, Odeska Oblast ** 56th Security and Support Commandature (MU А3519), Odesa, Odeska Oblast * Intelligence units: ** 30th Intelligence Command Center (MU А1017), Odesa, Odes`ka Oblast ** 29th Seaborne Intelligence Center (MU А1430), Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast **

Electronic Intelligence Signals intelligence (SIGINT) is intelligence-gathering by interception of '' signals'', whether communications between people (communications intelligence—abbreviated to COMINT) or from electronic signals not directly used in communication ...

Center (MU А1892), Velikiy Dalnik village, Odeska Oblast ** Navigation, Hydrography and Hydrometeorology Center (MU А1940), Odesa, Odeska Oblast ** 133rd Cryptographic and Technical Information Protection Center (MU А3346), Odesa, Odeska Oblast ** Information Security Information Center (MU А1905), Odesa, Odeska Oblast * Communications units: ** 68th Joint Information and Telecommunications Nod (MU А4362), Odesa, Odeska Oblast ** 37th Signals Regiment (MU А1942), Radisne, Odeska Oblast ** 71st Field Courier Station (MU А2810), Odesa, Odeska Oblast ** 2210th Field Courier Station (MU А0390), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast * Engineer units: ** Operational (Combat) Support Center (MU А1032), Chornomorske, Odeska Oblast * Nuclear, chemical and biological defence units: ** 114th Surveillance and Analytical Station * Logistical and technical units: ** 222nd Logistical Battalion (MU А3537), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** 84th Arsenal for Mine and Torpedo Weaponry (MU А2637), Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Other support units * Education and training establishments: ** Odesa National Maritime Academy – Ukrainian Naval College of Odesa ** Naval Institute at the "Odesa Sea Academy" National University, Odesa, Odeska Oblast *** Scientific Research Center "State Oceanarium" (MU А1113), Odesa, Odeska Oblast *** Military Training Office of the Seafaring Technical Fleet College at the "Odesa Sea Academy" National University, Odesa, Odeska Oblast ** 198th Navy Training Center (MU А3163), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast *** Diving School (MU А0344) *** Ship Personnel Training School *** Marine Infantry School ** 203rd Naval NCO Training Center (МУ А2085), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Naval Lyceum ''"Vice Admiral Volodymyr Bezkorovainy"'', Odesa, Odeska Oblast Operational forces: The bulk of operational forces of the Ukrainian Navy have been organised since 2018 into two operational commands - the Seaborne Command and the Marine Infantry Command, with a plethora of units, such as naval aviation, signals troops, engineer troops etc. directly subordinated to the Naval Command and providing operational support to the two main operational commands.

= Seaborne Command

= The Seaborne Command is the Ukrainian Navy's fleet component, conducting operations at sea. Affected greatly by the Russian annexation of Crimea the fleet is in a process of radical reorganisation and renovation. Losing most of its infrastructure on the Crimean peninsula and many of its ships, the fleet has relocated to the north, with the three main naval bases in Odesa, Ochakiv (near Mykolaiv) and Berdyansk (near Mariupol) undergoing substantial expansion and upgrade to NATO standards. Seaborne Command of the Ukrainian Navy (MU А3274) Odesa, Odesa Oblast * Flotilla (MU А0437), Odesa, Odesa Oblast - standing naval task force roughly of army brigade equivalent, which takes command and control over the ships of the ships detachments for combined operations at sea. ** Naval ships in operations at sea * Western Naval Base "South" (also designated Military Installation Novi Bilyari-1 - ''військове містечко Нові Біляри -1'') (MU А2238), Novi Bilyari village, Odesa Oblast ** 30th Surface Ships Detachment (formerly the 1st Surface Ships Brigade) ** 1st Harbour Area Security Ships Detachment ** 28th Support Ships Detachment (formerly the 28th Ships Detachment of the Salvage and Rescue Service) ** 24th Riverine Fast Craft Detachment ** 801st Center for Combat against Underwater Incursion Forces and Devices and Mine Disposal ** 22nd Radar Company ** Security Company of Naval Base "South" * Main Naval Base "Namiv" (also designated Military Installation Nr. 111) (MU А????), Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** 29th Surface Ships Detachment (formerly the 5th Surface Ships Brigade) ** 31st Supply Ships Detachment (formerly 8th Harbour Area Security Ships Detachment) ** Separate Platoon for Combat against Underwater Incursion Forces and Devices Ochakiv ** 21st Radar Company detachment, Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Security Company of Naval Base "Namiv" * Naval Base "East" (also designated Military Installation Nr. 90) (MU А3130), Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Mariupol, Mariupol Oblast (lost) ** 9th Surface Ships Detachment ** Platoon for Combat against Underwater Incursion Forces and Devices Berdyansk ** Platoon for Combat against Underwater Incursion Forces and Devices Mariupol ** 21st Radar Company ** Security Company of Naval Base "East"

= Marine Infantry Command

= The Marine Infantry Command is the Ukrainian Navy's land warfare component. It is in a process of rapid expansion. Marine Infantry Command (MU А2022), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast * 35th Marine Infantry Brigade ''"Rear Admiral Mikhail Ostrogradskiy"'' (MU А0216), Dachne-2 village, Odeska Oblast ** Brigade Command and Staff ** Field Signals Nod ** 18th Marine Infantry Battalion (MU А4210), Sarata village, Odeska Oblast ** 88th Marine Infantry Battalion (MU А2613), Bolgrad, Odeska Oblast ** 137th Marine Infantry Battalion (MU А3821), Dachne village, Odeska Oblast ** 2nd Tank Battalion ** Brigade Artillery Group *** Artillery Command and Reconnaissance Battery *** Self-propelled Howitzer Artillery Battalion *** Anti-tank Artillery Battalion *** Multiple Launch Rocket Artillery Battalion ** Air Defence Missile and Artillery Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** Sniper Rifle Company ** Radio-Electronic Warfare Company ** Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defence Company ** Engineer Support Group ** Material Supply Group ** Repair and Overhaul Battalion ** Medical Company * 36th Separate Marine Brigade ''"Rear Admiral Mikhail Bilinskiy"'' (MU А2802), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Brigade Command and Staff ** Field Signals Nod ** 1st Marine Infantry Battalion (MU А2777), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** 501st Marine Infantry Battalion (MU А1965), Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast ** 503rd Marine Infantry Battalion (MU А1275), Mariupol, Mariupol Oblast (could possibly expand into a new marine infantry brigade) ** 1st Tank Battalion (

T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while ...

) ** 1st Brigade Artillery Group *** Artillery Command and Reconnaissance Battery *** Self-propelled Howitzer Artillery Battalion *** Anti-tank Artillery Battalion *** Multiple Launch Rocket Artillery Battalion ** Air Defence Missile and Artillery Battalion ** Reconnaissance Company ** Sniper Rifle Company ** Radio-Electronic Warfare Company ** Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defence Company ** Engineer Support Group ** Material Supply Group ** Repair and Overhaul Battalion ** Medical Company * 406th Artillery Brigade ''"Lt.-Gen. Oleksy Almazov"'' (MU А2062), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Brigade Command and Staff ** Command Battery ** Artillery Reconnaissance Battalion ** 64th Field Artillery Battalion (MU А4217), Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Odeska Oblast ** 65th Field Artillery Battalion (MU А3687), Dachne-2 village, Odeska Oblast ** 66th Field Artillery Battalion Battalion (MU А2611), Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast ** 67th Field Artillery Battalion (MU А1804), Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Engineer Company ** Security Company ** Material Supply Company ** Repair Company * 140th Reconnaissance Battalion (MU А0878), Skadovsk, Kherson Oblast * 241st Combined Arms Training Grounds "Oleshivsky Sands" of the Marine Infantry Command (MU А2407), Radensk village, Kherson Oblast Uncertain if under Marine Infantry Command or directly subordinated to Naval Command: * 32nd Rocket Artillery Regiment (MU А1325) (

BM-27 Uragan The BM-27 Uragan (russian: БМ-27 Ураган, lit=Hurricane; GRAU index 9P140) is a self-propelled 220 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system began its service with the Soviet Army in the late 1970s, and wa ...

MLRS), Altestove village, Odeska Oblast ** Headquarters & Headquarters Battery ** Signal Platoon ** Rocket Artillery Battalion ** Rocket Artillery Battalion ** Rocket Artillery Battalion ** Security Company ** Engineer Company ** CBRN-defense Platoon ** Logistic Company ** Maintenance Company * 7th Air Defence Missile Battalion (MU А0350) ( S-125-2D1 SAM), Ochakiv, Mykolaiv Oblast

= directly subordinated to Naval Command

* 10th Naval Aviation Brigade (MU А1688), Mykolaiv, Mykolaiv Oblast ** Brigade Command and Staff ** Naval Aircraft Squadron ( An-2T,

An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twin ...

Be-12 The Beriev Be-12 ''Chayka'' ("Seagull", NATO reporting name: Mail) is a Soviet turboprop-powered amphibious aircraft designed in the 1950s for anti-submarine and maritime patrol duties. Design and development The Beriev Be-12 was a successor to ...

) ** Naval Helicopter Squadron ( Ka-27, Ka-29, Mi-14PL/PS, Mil Mi-8MSB-V, Mi-9, Mi-2MSB-V,

Kamov Ka-226 The Kamov Ka-226 (NATO reporting name: Hoodlum) is a small, twin-engine Russian utility helicopter. The Ka-226 features an interchangeable mission pod, rather than a conventional cabin, allowing the use of various accommodation or equipment ...

) ** Naval UAV Squadron ( Bayraktar TB2) ** Signals and Radio-Technical Support Battalion ** Meteorological Group ** Aerial Technical Exploitation Unit ** Automobile Technical Exploitation Unit ** Special Engineer Service ** Combat Search and Rescue Parachute Airborne Group ** Airfield Technical Support Battalion ** Security Platoon ** Material Supply Company ** other units

Former ship organisation of the Ukrainian Navy

*1st Surface Ships Brigade ** Frigate "Hetman Sahaydachniy" (U130) **Missile boat "

Pryluky Pryluky ( uk, Прилу́ки ) is a city and municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (district). Located nearby is the Pryluky air base, a ma ...

" (U153) **Artillery boat "

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of ...

" (U174) **Artillery boat "

Akkerman Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

" (U175) *1st Security & Logistic Division **Cutter "

Hola Prystan Hola Prystan ( uk, Го́ла При́стань, ) is a city in Skadovsk Raion, Kherson Oblast, southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of the Hola Prystan urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It has a population of The Konk ...

" (U241) **Training vessel "

Chyhyryn Chyhyryn ( uk, Чигирин, ) is a city and historic site located in Cherkasy Raion of Cherkasy Oblast of central Ukraine. From 1648 to 1669 the city was a Hetman residence. After a forced relocation of the Ruthenian Orthodox metropolitan see ...

" (U540) **Training vessel " Smila" (U541) **Training vessel "

Nova Kakhovka Nova Kakhovka ( uk, Нова́ Кахо́вка, ; russian: Новая Каховка) is a city in the central Kakhovka Raion region of Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine currently under Russian occupation. Nova Kakhovka is an important po ...

" (U542) **Diving vessel "

Pochaiv Pochaiv ( uk, Почаїв, pl, Poczajów, yi, פּאטשאיעװ, Pitshayev) is a town in the Ternopil Oblast (Oblast, province) of western Ukraine. It is located in the Kremenets Raion (Raion, district), and is located 18 km south-west of ...

" (U701) **Diving cutter "

Volodymyr-Volynskyi Volodymyr ( uk, Володи́мир, from 1944 to 2021 Volodymyr-Volynskyi ( uk, Володи́мир-Воли́нський)) is a small city located in Volyn Oblast, in north-western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of the Volodymyr R ...

" (U721) **Diving cutter "RVK-268" (U724) **Water tanker "

Sudak Sudak (Ukrainian & Russian: Судак; crh, Sudaq; gr, Σουγδαία; sometimes spelled Sudac or Sudagh) is a town, multiple former Eastern Orthodox bishopric and double Latin Catholic titular see. It is of regional significance in Crimea, ...

" (U756) **Tanker "

Fastiv Fastiv ( uk, Фа́стів) is a city in the Kyiv Oblast ( province) in central Ukraine. On older maps it is depicted as Chvastiv ( pl, Chwastów). Administratively, it is incorporated as a city of oblast significance. It also serves as the a ...

" (U760) **Passenger boat "

Illichivsk Chornomorsk ( uk, Чорномо́рськ, ), formerly Illichivsk (, Romanization of Ukrainian, translit. ''Illichivs'k''), is a city in Odesa Raion, Odesa Oblast (Oblast, province) of south-western Ukraine, dependent on the Port of Chornomorsk ...

" (U783) **

Degaussing Degaussing is the process of decreasing or eliminating a remnant magnetic field. It is named after the gauss, a unit of magnetism, which in turn was named after Carl Friedrich Gauss. Due to magnetic hysteresis, it is generally not possible to red ...

vessel "

Balta Balta may refer to: People * Balta (footballer) (born 1962), Spanish footballer and manager * Balta (surname) Places * Balta (crater), on Mars * Balta, Mehedinți, Romania *Bâlta, a village in Filiași, Dolj County, Romania *Bâlta, a village ...

" (U811) **Seagoing tug " Kovel" (U831) **Passenger boat "

Korosten Korosten ( uk, Ко́ростень, ; historically also ''Iskorosten'' ) is a historic city and a large transport hub in the Zhytomyr Oblast (province) of northern Ukraine. It is located on the Uzh River. Korosten serves as the administrative c ...

" (U853) **Cutter "RK-1942" (U932) **Tug "BUK-239" (U941) **Tug "

Krasnoperekopsk Krasnoperekopsk (russian: Краснопереко́пск, uk, Яни Капу, Краснопереко́пськ, crh, Yañı Qapı, Krasnoperekopsk) is a town of regional significance that was, following the 2014 annexation of Crimea, incorpo ...

" (U947) *24th River Boat Division **Patrol boat "

Skadovsk Skadovsk ( uk, Скадо́вськ, translit. ''Skadovs’k'', ; russian: Скадовск) is a port city on the Black Sea in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of Skadovsk Raion and hosts the administ ...

" (U170) **Armed cutter "Pivdennyi" (U171) **Armed cutter "

Rivne Rivne (; uk, Рівне ),) also known as Rovno (Russian: Ровно; Polish: Równe; Yiddish: ראָוונע), is a city in western Ukraine. The city is the administrative center of Rivne Oblast (province), as well as the surrounding Rivne Raio ...

" (U172) **Armed cutter "AK-02" (U173) *28th Emergency Rescue Division **Fire boat "

Borshchiv Borshchiv (, , , yi, בארשטשיוו, Borshtshev) is a city in Chortkiv Raion (since 2020) of Ternopil Oblast ( province) of western Ukraine. It previously was the administrative center of the former Borshchiv Raion (district) and is locate ...

" (U722) **Diving cutter " Romny" (U732) **Diving cutter "

Tokmak Tokmak may refer to one of the following: * Tokmak, Ukraine, a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine *Tokmak, Uzbekistan, a city in Uzbekistan *Tokmok, a city in Kyrgyzstan, often also spelt Tokmak *Molochna The Molochna (, russian: Моло́чн ...

" (U733) **Medical evacuation cutter "

Sokal Sokal ( uk, Сокаль, Romanization of Ukrainian, romanized: ''Sokal'') is a city located on the Bug River in Chervonohrad Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sokal urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukrain ...

" (U782) **

Anchor handling tug Anchor Handling Tug Supply (AHTS) vessels are mainly built to handle anchors for oil rigs, tow them to location, and use them to secure the rigs in place. AHTS vessels sometimes also serve as Emergency Response and Rescue Vessels (ERRVs) and a ...

Shostka Shostka (, ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in the north-east of Ukraine. Shostka serves as the administrative center of Shostka Raion. It is administratively incorporated as a city of oblast significance and does not belong to the raion. The city l ...

" (U852) *5th Surface Ships Brigade ** Corvette "Vinnytsia" (U206) **Minesweeper "

" (U360) **Landing ship "Yuri Olefirenko" (U401) **Landing barge " Svatove" (U763) ** Reconnaissance ship "Pereiaslav" (U512) **Armed cutter "AK-03" (U938) *8th Security & Logistic Division **Diving vessel "

Netishyn Netishyn ( uk, Нетішин, russian: Нетешин, pl, Niecieszyn) is a city in Shepetivka Raion of Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province), in the west of Ukraine. It is located on the Horyn River. Netishyn hosts the administration of Netishyn urb ...

" (U700) **Fire boat " Evpatoria" (U728) **Freighter "

Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...

" (U753) **Seagoing tug "

Korets Korets (, russian: link=no, Корец, , yi, קאריץ ''Koritz'') is a city in Rivne Oblast in Ukraine. The city is located on the Korchyk river, 66 kilometers to the east of Rivne. It is administrative center of Korets Raion. Population: ...

" (U830) **Diving cutter " Dobropillia" (U854) **Towing tug "

" (U942)

Equipment

Ships

Some 20 years after the

fall of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the main warships of the Ukrainian Navy are former Black Sea Fleet vessels that were designed and built in the Soviet Union. As of December 2007, the Navy had 27 combat ships and cutters. In 2015 Ukraine received 5 small (7 and 11 meter aluminum) Willard Marine patrol boats; the original order was placed in 2013.

Aircraft

Mil Mi-14PL Haze, Ukraine - Navy JP7146076

According to former Navy Commander Vice Admiral

Yuriy Ilyin Yuriy Ivanovych Ilyin ( uk, Юрій Іванович Ільїн; ; ; born 21 August 1962) is a Ukrainian admiral and former commander of the Ukrainian Navy. He was elevated to the position of Chief of the General Staff by President Viktor Yanuk ...

, at the beginning of 2013, the fleet had 11 warships fully ready to perform complex tasks and ten aircraft and 31 auxiliary vessels fit for service. As of 24 March 2014, most of the Ukrainian ships in Sevastopol were taken by the Russian Black Sea Fleet, including several aircraft and other equipment. On 8 April 2014 an agreement was reached between Russia and Ukraine to return Ukrainian Navy materials to Ukraine proper. A part of the Ukrainian Navy was then returned to Ukraine but Russia suspended this agreement because/after Ukraine did not renew its unilaterally declared ceasefire on 1 July 2014 in the war in Donbas. On 11 January 2018,

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

stated that Russia was ready to return Ukrainian military ships, aviation equipment and armored vehicles that were still in Crimea. The Ukrainian Navy received its first complex of Bayraktar Tactical Block 2 on 15 July 2021.

Naval Infantry

The Ukrainian Naval Infantry (Ukrainian: Морська піхота literally means "Naval Infantry") is a part of coastal guard of the Ukrainian Navy. It is used as a component part of amphibious, airborne and amphibious-airborne operations, alone or in conjunction with formations and units of the Army in order to capture parts of the seashore, islands, ports, fleet bases, coast airfields and other coast objects of the enemy. It can also be used to defend naval bases, vital areas of the shore, separate islands and coastal facilities and provide security in hostile areas. Based in Mykolaiv it is organized into a full division with 2 brigades (2 more are being activated and 1 transferred from the Ground Forces), 1 coastal and field artillery brigade and 1 multiple rocket launcher artillery regiment.

Coastal Defence

Future

The navy was highly affected by the seizure of Crimea by Russia in 2014. At the time of the Russian invasion, the majority of Ukraine's naval vessels were docked in Crimea. Ukraine developed plans to rebuild their naval capability even before 2014 by planning to build 4–10 new corvettes at the Mykolaiv Shipyard. This was one of the Soviet Union's largest shipyards and it built Russia's only and China's first operational aircraft carriers. After the 2014 Crimean status referendum, Ukraine refused to import arms from Russia for its newly-constructed ships, thus it is unclear whether weapons for project 58250 as Ukraine dubbed it, will be built internally in Ukraine or imported from another country. In 2015, Ukraine received five small () aluminum Willard Marine patrol boats; the original order was placed in 2013. In mid 2014, the construction of Gyurza-M-class artillery boats was revived and the first two vessels were expected to be completed in late 2015. In December 2016 the first two Gurza-M artillery boats officially joined the Ukrainian Navy. A new military contract was signed for 20 vessels that should be completed by 2020. On 27 September 2018, the former

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

ships '' Drummond'' and were formally transferred to Ukraine after their retirement from US service. The two vessels were shipped, as deck cargo, and arrived in Odesa on 21 October 2019. The was formally transferred to the Ukrainian Navy from the Ministry of Infrastructure on 29 August 2019. The Project 58181 Centaur (Kentavr)//Project 58503 Centaur-LK class is a series of small armored assault craft being built for the Ukrainian Navy. The first two vessels were laid down at the

Kuznya na Rybalskomu Kuznia na Rybalskomu ( uk, "Кузня на Рибальському") is a ship building and armament company in Kyiv, Ukraine. Situated on the Dnieper River and presently concentrating on river ships, the company is also able to produce and re ...

in December 2016. The project was developed by State Research and Design Shipbuilding Center on the basis of the Gyurza-M-class artillery boats. They are designed for patrol service on rivers and coastal maritime areas, the delivery and landing of marines. Two ships on trial, one on order. P191 Starobilsk (unloading)

In 2018 the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

offered Ukraine some of its s from its reserve fleet. The details of this offer were being worked out as of October 2018. Ukrainian shipbuilder Kuznya na Rybalskomu launched a new medium reconnaissance ship for the Ukrainian Navy on 23 April 2019. On 20 October 2019 the unfinished ship arrived in Odesa for completion and commissioning. The US State Department approved a Foreign Military Sales case for the supply of up to 16

Mark VI patrol boat The Mark VI is a class of patrol boat in service with the United States Navy, designed to patrol riverine and littoral waters. The first two Mark VI boats were delivered to Coastal Riverine Group TWO in September 2015. Two boats were forward depl ...

s and associated equipment to Ukraine in June 2020. 12 boats out of the 16 approved for sale has been ordered as of January 2022 and the Ukrainian President (Volodymyr Zelensky) has said that deliveries of the Mark VI patrol boats to Ukraine will begin in 2022. In October 2020 Ukraine and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

signed a

memorandum A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

in which the UK government pledged to provide a 10-year loan of up to £1.25 billion ( $1.6 billion) for the re-equipment of the Ukrainian Navy. In June 2021, during a visit by to Odesa, it was revealed that an agreement had been reached for two s to be transferred to the Ukrainian Navy upon decommissioning from the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. In December 2020, Ukraine signed an agreement for the production of four s. Ukraine is developing a supersonic cruise missile named Bliskavka to arm its warships. The Ukrainian Navy received its first complex of Bayraktar Tactical Block 2 drones on 15 July 2021.Ukrainian military gets first Turkish Bayraktar UAV complex

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

(15 July 2021)

Notes

References

External links and further reading

Jane's Navy International Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informat ...

, Interview: Admiral Viktor Maksymov, C.-in-C., Ukraine Navy, JNI December 2010, 34.
Ukrainian Navy: ferial excursions into the past and present

Interview of Borys Kozhyn
Magazine "Hetman". #1 (24) 2009. * Navy page on the official site of the Ministry of Defence
in Englishin Ukrainian
* Ukrainian Navy Website
in English

in Ukrainian

(full unofficial list of vessels with descriptions, as of March 2002; no images)

(most vessels available, with pennant numbers, no detailed descriptions) {{Navies in Europe Military of Ukraine 1917 establishments in Ukraine 1921 disestablishments in Ukraine 1992 establishments in Ukraine