During an official visit to the Netherlands, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Ukrainian sailors currently undergoing intensive training on the Alkmaar-class mine countermeasure vessel. This vessel will soon become an integral part of Ukraine’s maritime security system. Zelenskyy familiarized himself with the training process and discussed strategic plans to enhance maritime defense capabilities with the personnel, emphasizing the importance of this support in securing Ukraine’s coastal areas against mine threats.
According to him, the Netherlands will fully prepare the crew and transfer the vessel to Ukraine in June this year. The ship will be named “Henichesk” in memory of a vessel lost in June 2022 during operations near the Kinburn Spit. This mine countermeasure vessel will be the fifth component in Ukraine’s future mine countermeasure fleet and the second provided by the Netherlands government.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude to the Dutch people for their consistent and heartfelt support. During the meeting, he awarded state honors to the Chief of Defense of the Netherlands, Onno Eichelsheim, and to the Ukrainian sailors, acknowledging the high level of professionalism of both parties. As part of ongoing cooperation, the Netherlands is allocating €248 million to procure unmanned aerial vehicles for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Additionally, a declaration on defense cooperation was signed, and agreements were made for the joint production of unmanned systems.
