The Ukrainian Navy will receive a minesweeper, a small warship, donated by the Netherlands, but it isn’t yet known when the ship will reach the war-torn country.
The Makkum minesweeper was decommissioned by the Dutch Royal Navy this month as it is set to be deployed to Ukraine after serving 40 years in the Netherlands, according to a statement from the Dutch defense ministry.
The warship is one of many donations of military aid the Netherlands has made to Ukraine, in addition to humanitarian relief, reconstruction assistance, medicine and other goods, since the conflict with Russia began in February 2022.
Newsweek reached out to the defense ministries of Ukraine and the Netherlands for comment.
The Royal Netherlands Navy held a farewell ceremony for the minesweeper in which a war pennant was presented to the last commander of the Makkum, lieutenant at sea-1 Dave de Kruijff, as local residents looked on.
The minesweeper took part in exercises and cleared explosives, 120 in the North Sea, and the ship, along with all other Alkmaar-class minehunters, is set to be replaced by six new mine countermeasures vessels that have a hypermodern toolbox with unmanned systems to detect and clear explosives. The first new ship called Vlissingen is currently under construction and will be given to the navy next year.
Alkmaar-class minehunters are ships originally built by Belgium, France and the Netherlands in the 1980s and 1990s that were equipped with advanced technology designed to aid the navy with mine clearance, and to transport ammunition and cargo, according to United24Media.
Ukraine has previously received the Vlaardingen minehunter, which was decommissioned on March 27, according to Militarnyi.
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte previously said that the Netherlands had pledged 4 billion euros ($4.2 billion) of military support to Ukraine through 2025. according to Reuters.
The Netherlands supplied Ukraine with 80 million euros of support materials for F-16s and air-to-air missiles in September, which came as part of a 221 million-euro aid package for Ukraine that Prime Minister Dick Schoof described as “focused mainly on protecting and repairing the energy infrastructure and includes additional funding for humanitarian assistance.”
Ukraine has also received 2 million euros for DNA testing in order to identify missing persons in Ukraine, 55 million euros for repairs of (energy) infrastructure, shelter, schools and hospitals (via the World Bank), and more as part of the Netherlands’ 400 million-euro 2024 aid package.
The Netherlands has also sent 24 F-16 jets alongside Denmark, Norway and Belgium to strengthen Ukrainian air defenses.
Other recent Ukrainian naval developments include their launch of drone attacks on Crimea in late October, which included the utilization of waterborne drones.
The Ukranian Navy has also recently posted a video of aerial and interior footage of a future naval flagship, the Turkish-built Ada-class anti-submarine corvette, which is currently being repaired.
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