Ukrainian naval forces

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Ukrainian Navy
Військово-Морські Сили України

Emblem of the Ukrainian Navy, svg

Emblem of the Ukrainian naval forces
Lineup 1917 - 1921
December 12, 1991
Country UkraineUkraine Ukraine
Armed forces Ukrainian armed forces
Type Armed forces
Strength 17,500
Tradition Black Sea Fleet
guide
Commander Admiral Ihor Voronchenko
insignia
Flag of the Ukrainian Naval Forces
FIAV 000001.svg 		Naval Ensign of Ukraine.svg

The Ukrainian Naval Forces ( Ukrainian Військово-Морські Сили України, ВМСУ , Wiys'kowo-Mors'ki Syly Ukrayiny ) are the navy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces . Since the Crimean crisis in 2014, information on the number of crews, units and ships has been unclear.

history

Gunboat Donets of the Ukrainian State Fleet (1918)
Ukrainian sailors, parade on August 24, 2008, the independence day of Ukraine

Between 1918 and 1921 there was already a Ukrainian state fleet of the Ukrainian People's Republic , which was absorbed into the Soviet Black Sea Fleet . From 1921 to 1991 the naval forces were a matter of the Soviet Union and not of its Union republics.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the resulting independence of Ukraine, the Black Sea Fleet of the Soviet Navy was now on the territory of Ukraine. On January 2, 1992, Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk ordered all former Soviet troops, including the Black Sea Fleet, stationed on the territory of Ukraine to be placed under Ukrainian command. Only the strategic military units were excluded. On August 2, 1992, Kravchuk reached an agreement with Russian President Boris Yeltsin in the conflict over the Black Sea Fleet that the two states would form a joint command over the approximately 380 ships and boats for a transitional period until 1995. On June 17, 1993, Kravchuk and Yeltsin signed another agreement in Moscow on the Black Sea Fleet, which was mainly stationed in Crimea . According to this, by 1995 the fleet of around 300 ships and boats as well as the buildings and port facilities were to be split in half. Until 1995, the Black Sea Fleet should continue to be jointly managed and financed and under the joint supreme command of the Presidents of Russia and Ukraine. On September 3, 1993, the two presidents agreed in Yalta to revise the previous agreement. Ukraine agreed to sell its 50 percent stake to Russia . The naval base in Sevastopol , which is located on Ukrainian territory, was leased by Russia. The lease payments were offset against the Ukrainian debt to Russia. Kravchuk's decision was heavily criticized in the Verkhovna Rada .

On April 15, 1994 the Black Sea Fleet was negotiated again. The remaining Ukrainian share of 50% of the approximately 300 ships and boats should now be reduced to around 15 to 20%. 30 to 35% of the fleet was sold to Russia. Ukraine was left with over 60 ships and some unfinished hulls. Most of it was in poor condition and unseaworthy. In addition, negotiations took place on the use of the naval bases in the Crimea. Russia demanded the sole right of use of the naval base in Sevastopol, which had a special status as the home port of the Black Sea Fleet in the Soviet Union, which remained in effect from 1991 to 2014, even when Crimea was part of the Ukraine. On June 9, 1995, Yeltsin and President Leonid Kuchma, who had been in office since 1994, agreed in Sochi that Sevastopol would remain the base of the Russian Navy and that the Crimean military infrastructure could be used by Russia.

On May 31, 1997, Yeltsin and Kuchma signed another agreement on the status of the Black Sea Fleet. Russia leased the military facilities in Sevastopol for the next 20 years and used the ports in Sevastopol and Karantinnaya Bay and the facilities in Streletskaya together with the Ukrainian Navy. The lease contract was extended on April 21, 2010 by the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and the Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych against cheaper Russian gas supplies until 2042.

Ukraine did not succeed in making or maintaining a large number of ships seaworthy. Repairs were limited to the bare minimum or were only carried out with the aim of getting a ship ready for sale.

Crimean crisis

During the Crimean crisis in 2014, the commander in office since July 27, 2012, Yuri I Ilyin , was recalled by the Ukrainian interim government under Oleksandr Turchynov on February 28, 2014 and Admiral Denys Berezovsky was appointed as his successor. On March 2, 2014, he declared his allegiance to the people of Crimea and their new pro-Russian regional government. As a result, he was removed from office on the same day and a preliminary investigation into treason was initiated against him. The Security Council of Ukraine said he refused to fight Russia if necessary and gave up the naval headquarters in Sevastopol . According to media reports, the Ukrainian navy was loyal to its new government during the Crimean crisis, but did not use armed force against the Russian army.

Various media reported that the flagship of the Ukrainian Navy, the frigate Hetman Sahajdachny , had placed itself under the command of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Ukrainian admiral Andrij Tarasow denied this report. The frigate moored in Crete on March 4, 2014 and was received with military honors in Odessa on March 6 .

Important naval bases were surrounded by Russian marines, who initially wore uniforms without national emblems or other identifying marks. On March 2, Russian forces surrounded the base of the Ukrainian marine infantry near Feodosiya . The bases of the marine infantry were among the first to be surrounded by the Russian Black Sea Fleet during the Crimean crisis in 2014. Various naval bases in Ukraine and the entrance to the base of the 36th Brigade of Ukrainian Border Troops in Perewalne were blocked. There the Ukrainian forces were clearly outnumbered.

On March 3, four ships of the Russian Navy blocked the Ukrainian corvette Ternopil and the command ship Slavutytsch within the port of Sevastopol to prevent them from sailing. Other Russian ships blocked the entrance to the port. Pro-Russian civilians blocked access to the naval base in Sevastopol.

On March 4, 2014, several media outlets reported that Russia was giving the Ukrainian armed forces stationed in Crimea an ultimatum demanding that the new government in Crimea recognize, lay down and withdraw their arms, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told the AFP news agency . Otherwise you have to be prepared for an attack by the Russian military. The Russian Defense Ministry immediately denied these reports. The Ukrainian navy reported that armed forces in a boat had tried to board the Slavutych. The attackers could have been repelled. On March 6, 2014, the Hulk of the decommissioned Russian anti-submarine cruiser Ochakov was sunk by Russian forces in the entrance to the Donuslav Sea in order to block the Ukrainian naval base Nowooserne ("New Lake "). A total of ten Russian ships including the missile cruiser Moskva blocked access.

The government of Crimea, led by Sergei Aksyonov , planned to nationalize ships, boats and facilities of the Ukrainian naval forces stationed in the Crimea in the event of independence. Soldiers who did not want to change sides would have to leave the peninsula.

On March 19, 2014, several actions by security forces of the Republic of Crimea forced the abandonment of three military bases of the Ukrainian armed forces. In addition to the bases in Bakhchysarai and Nowooserne, the naval headquarters in Sevastopol was also taken. The new Commander in Chief of the Ukrainian Navy, Rear Admiral Serhiy Hajduk , has been temporarily arrested.

Takeover by Russia

The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation officially announced on March 22, 2014 that it had taken over military control of Crimea . In total, over 147 Ukrainian military installations and more than three quarters of Ukrainian ships were brought under Russian control.

According to Russian sources, the soldiers and officers of the Ukrainian troops were offered either to switch to Russian service, to bid their farewell or, if they wanted to continue serving in the Ukrainian armed forces, to leave the Crimea. According to Russian information, about 90% of the soldiers wanted to switch to the Russian armed forces; few remain in the Ukrainian armed forces. The latter were granted free withdrawal by Russia and assistance with relocation.

organization

By March 2014, the Ukrainian Navy had around 17,500 soldiers , including 3,000 marines . It is divided into the units of the surface unit; Underwater unit; Naval bases, coastal missile systems and marine infantry.

The Navy also has departments for logistical, technical and medical support, naval training centers and a scientific service. The Navy is indirectly subordinate to the Ukrainian Defense Minister.

The navy was divided into the area west and the area south.

Marine infantry

The marines of the Ukrainian Navy are the amphibious and air-amphibious components of the naval forces. Your task is to work together with the land forces to conquer and secure important land bases.

Bases

Crimea

The headquarters of the Ukrainian fleet was in Sevastopol on the west coast of Crimea until March 19, 2014 when it was abandoned . After a controversial referendum , Crimea applied for admission to the Russian Federation after Russian troops without a national badge had already occupied Crimea. Other bases on the west coast of the Crimea were Evpatorija (Nowooserne / Myrnyj ) and Saky . The Feodosiya naval base is located on the south coast of Crimea.

Mainland

At the confluence of the Dnepr-Bug-Liman and the Berezan-Liman is the Ochakiv base , further west is the current headquarters in Odessa and in the Danube Delta the base in Ismajil .

Shipyards

There are naval shipyards in Balaklava and Mykolaiv . After the Crimean crisis, the shipyard in Balaklava is now on territory claimed and controlled by Russia.

equipment

Ships

The ship numbers of Ukrainian ships consist of a capital Latin "U" followed by the number. The ships fly the blue and yellow flag of Ukraine.

In total, the Ukrainian Navy had 40, according to other sources, 67 ships, of which at least five were not operational according to the Defense Minister - including the cruiser Ukrayina , which was taken over by Ukraine unfinished after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 and never finished . The Ukrayina, now 95% completed, is unarmed in the port of Sevastopol, while the Ukrainian government was looking for a buyer for the ship. Russia expressed great interest in the Ukrayina , but it has not yet been bought for the Russian Navy. In 2010 the ship was renamed 1164 , indicating a possible planned sale.

As a result of the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, most of the ships were initially taken over by Russia / the Russian Black Sea Fleet. In April 2014, Russia began returning the ships to Ukraine. According to Russian information, the return of the Ukrainian military technology should be completed by June 2014. By April 21, 2014, 13 ships had been returned, and by May 20, there were 28. It cannot be determined whether the other ships have been returned in the meantime, not least because Russia has apparently suspended the return of Ukrainian military technology.

Hetman Sahajdatschny (U130)
Kostjantyn Olschanskyj (U402)
Slavutych (U510)
Donbas (U500)
Slavyansk (P190)
Nikopol (P176)
Military ship class Ship name Identifier origin Remarks
frigate
Kriwak class (project 1135.1) Hetman Sahaidachnyj U130 UkraineUkraine Ukraine flagship
Corvettes
Grischa-V-Class (Project 1124-M) Lutsk U200 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Taken over by Russia at the end of March 2014
Grischa-V-Class (Project 1124-M) Ternopil U209 UkraineUkraine Ukraine Taken over by Russia at the end of March 2014
Grischa-V-Class (Project 1124-M) Vinnytsia U206 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Taken over by Russia at the end of March 2014
Tarantul II class (Project 1241.1) Pridneprovye (Prydniprovya) U155 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union
Pauk-I-Class (Project 1241.2-P) Khmelnytskyi (Khmelnytskyi) U208 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Taken over by Russia at the end of March 2014
Missile speedboats
Matka class (project 206MP) Pryluky (Priluki) U153 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Returned to Ukraine by Russia in April 2014.
Patrol boat
Island class Slovyansk P190 United StatesUnited States United States
Island class Starobilsk P191 United StatesUnited States United States
DropShips
Project 775 Kostjantyn Olschanskyj U402 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union
Polnocny-C-Class (Project 776) Kirovohrad U401 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Returned from Russia to Ukraine on April 19, 2014.
Command ship
Bambuk class (project 1288.4) Slavutych U510 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union
Submarine
Project 641 Zaporizhia U01 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Taken from Russia in 1997, inactive, expropriated by Russia at the end of March 2014
Minesweepers
Natya class (Project 266M) Chernihiv U310 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Expropriated by Russia at the end of March 2014
Natya class (Project 266M) Cherkassy U311 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union
Mine clearance boats
Sonya class (project 1265) Melitopol U330 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union
Command ship (converted workshop ship)
Amur Class (Project 304) Donbas U500 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Taken over by Russia at the end of March 2014. Returned to Ukraine by Russia in April 2014.

Aircraft

Ukrainian Beriev Be-12
A Kamow Ka-27 during landing exercises on an American frigate

Status: end of 2014

Aircraft origin use version active Ordered Remarks
Planes
Beriev Be-12 Chaika Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Maritime patrol 2
Antonov An-26 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Transport plane 2
helicopter
Kamow Ka-27 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Transport helicopter 5
Kamow Ka-29 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Transport helicopter 4th
Mil Wed-14 Soviet UnionSoviet Union Soviet Union Anti-submarine helicopter 4th

Commander

  • Borys B. Koschin (April 1992 - October 1993)
  • Volodymyr G. Beskorovajnyj (October 1993 - October 1996)
  • Mykhailo Borisovich Ezhel (October 1996 - May 2003)
  • Ihor Knias (May 2003 - March 23, 2006)
  • Ihor Tenjuch (March 23, 2006 - March 17, 2010)
  • Viktor Maksimow (March 17, 2010 - July 27, 2012)
  • Jurij I. Iljin (July 27, 2012 - February 28, 2014)
  • Denys Berezovsky (March 1, 2014 - March 2, 2014)
  • Serhij Hajduk (March 2, 2014 - August 6, 2016)
  • Ihor Vorontschenko (since August 6, 2016)

uniform

The blue and white cross-striped cotton traditional undershirt of the sailors is called Tilnjaschka .

Calls

On October 4, 2001, the Ukrainian Navy accidentally shot down a Tupolev Tu-154 M of the Russian airline Sibir during a maneuver in the Black Sea , killing all 78 people on board. The accident happened during a combat shooting with S-200 - anti-aircraft missiles .

The flagship of the Ukrainian Navy, the frigate Hetman Sahajdachny took part in the EU Atalanta mission in the Gulf of Aden . With a Ka-27 helicopter and a Marines boarding team, the ship was also part of Operation Ocean Shield .

Web links

Commons : Ukrainian Navy  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol until 2042
  2. ↑ Only submarine finally finished after 20 years  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / seefahrer.blog.de  
  3. ↑ After 20 years of repairs. Ukraine sends its only submarine out to sea. Voice of Russia, March 20, 2012, accessed March 23, 2014 .
  4. ↑ Ukraine wants to get rid of its submarine. forUm, archived from the original on September 29, 2007 ; accessed on March 23, 2014 (English).
  5. ↑ G-7 condemn Russia in a joint statement. Süddeutsche Zeitung, March 3, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  6. ↑ Hetman Sahaydachny Remains Loyal to Ukraine. navaltoday.com, March 4, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  7. ↑ Ukrainian Warship Thwarts Attack in Sevastopol. navaltoday.com, March 4, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  8. ^ Correspondents' report by ARD on March 4, 2014
  9. ↑ Slavutych ship repels attack of armed persons. Archived from the original on March 12, 2014 ; accessed on March 25, 2020 .
  10. ↑ The Maritime Executive: Russia Sinks Own Warship? March 6, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 (English, report to Maritime Executive).
  11. ↑ Sergei L. Loiko: Russia sinks ship to block Ukrainian navy entry to Black Sea. In: the Sydney morning herald. March 7, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  12. ^ Before the referendum on joining Russia. Crimea formally declares itself independent. Spiegel Online, March 11, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  13. ↑ Crimean government wants to confiscate Ukrainian ships. Stuttgarter Nachrichten, March 11, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  14. ↑ Crimea: Militias capture third military base. Der Kurier, March 19, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Russia officially takes over military control of Crimea. FAZ, March 22, 2014, accessed on April 22, 2014 .
  16. ↑ Ukrainian military can leave Crimea unhindered. RIA Novosti, March 25, 2014, accessed March 25, 2014 .
  17. ↑ a b Ninety percent of the Ukrainian military in Crimea want to stay. RIA Novosti, March 22, 2014, accessed March 25, 2014 .
  18. ^ The Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Structure of the Navy. Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  19. ↑ Russia returns warships to Ukraine. RIA Novosti, April 3, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  20. ↑ a b c Crimea: Russia hands over more ships to the Ukrainian navy. RIA Novosti, April 16, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  21. ↑ Russia wants to hand over Ukrainian combat technology in the Crimea to Kiev by June. RIA Novosti, April 9, 2014, accessed April 22, 2014 .
  22. ↑ a b Crimea: 13 of 70 ships have already been handed over to Ukraine. RIA Novosti, April 21, 2014, accessed April 23, 2014 .
  23. ↑ Russia returns more Ukraine Navy vessels. janes.com, May 20, 2014, archived from the original on July 14, 2014 ; Retrieved July 8, 2014 .
  24. ↑ Moscow suspends handing over of war equipment to Ukraine. sputniknews.com, July 5, 2014, accessed February 1, 2015 .
  25. ^ A b c d Pro-Russian forces capture Ukrainian vessels in Sevastopol. Anadolu Agency , March 21, 2014, accessed March 22, 2014 .
  26. ↑ a b c Julia Smirnova: The last ship that will resist the Russians. Welt Online , March 24, 2014, accessed March 24, 2014 .
  27. ↑ World Air Forces 2015 (PDF; 3.7 MB) ( Memento from December 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  28. ↑ Ben Aris: Ukraine admits it shot down Russian airliner. In: The Telegraph. October 13, 2001, accessed on July 19, 2014 (English): "Although both Russia and Ukraine were almost certainly aware of the cause from the start, it took eight days for Ukraine to accept responsibility."
  29. ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network (English)