The Naval Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not submit a request to Turkey for passage to the Black Sea of two Ukrainian minesweepers "Chernihiv" (M310) and "Cherkasy" (M311), which were handed over to Ukraine by Britain.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Navy, told about this on the air of the telethon.
"Given the effect of the Montreux Convention, another option should not have been expected in principle, therefore, accordingly, I can only confirm that we had no such intentions," he said, noting that Turkey does not allow Russian warships into the Black Sea. so there is no reason for "betrayal".
Answering a question about how Ukraine is currently demining the sea, the spokesman said that special robotic equipment and drones are used for this. It is less effective than minesweepers, and a lot of such equipment is needed, so Ukraine maintains a constant dialogue with its allies.
Pletenchuk also added that demining of the Black and Azov Seas after the end of active hostilities will last up to 5 years. This is the term of global demining. It will take 3-5 months to clear the main sea routes. The operation is already planned.
- At the beginning of the year, a number of media outlets wrote that "the minesweeper ships donated to Ukraine by the United Kingdom passed through the Turkish straits to the Black Sea." The Center for Combating Disinformation under the administration of the President of Turkey stated that this is not true, and reminded that, in accordance with the Montreux Convention, the country has closed the Bosphorus and Dardanelles to all warships of the warring parties.