President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree that puts into effect the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) regarding the new Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy announced this in an evening video message.
"This document takes into account the security changes and innovations that we have provided, in particular, in the Black Sea, in the development of our forces. This is a modern strategy, and we are implementing it together with our partners," he said.
Zelenskyy added that he is going to discuss the details of this strategy with his partners in the near future.
The NSDC noted that the document refers to:
- increasing the capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to deter armed aggression against Ukraine from sea and river directions;
- building a balanced Navy with all branches of the military;
- increasing the capabilities of the security and defense forces through the equipping of unmanned sea vehicles, etc.
In addition, the document for the first time sets the task of creating conditions for the regular presence of NATO forces in the Azov-Black Sea region and using all possible international legal mechanisms to completely prohibit the Russian Federation from having naval forces and warships in the Azov-Black Sea basin.