Ukraine’s Navy Set To Strengthen

This past Friday, Ukraine received an Ada-class corvette from Turkey. The Turkish-built corvette will hold the American-made Harpoon anti-ship missile system and other systems to target aircraft and submarines [STM]. However, it is unlikely Ukraine will be able to bring the corvette to the Black Sea as Turkey controls access under the Montreux Convention which prohibits entry into the sea for states at war.

Ukraine previously scuttled its sole frigate in the Black Sea due to the threat of it coming under Russian control as happened when Russia invaded Crimea and took control of most of Ukraine’s navy. Instead of relying on large vessels to degrade the Russian Navy, Ukraine has relied on a fleet of cheap drones as well as long-range missiles launched from the land and air to destroy a significant portion of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.