Ukrainian Defense Chief Thanks Netherlands' Rutte For Minehunters

(@FahadShabbir)

Ukrainian Defense Chief Thanks Netherlands' Rutte for Minehunters

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov thanked Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday for donating two minehunters that his country will use to scour the Black Sea shore for mines that Ukrainian troops planted ahead of a feared Russian landing campaign

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th March, 2023) Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov thanked Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Tuesday for donating two minehunters that his country will use to scour the Black Sea shore for mines that Ukrainian troops planted ahead of a feared Russian landing campaign.

"We will defend our Black and Azov Seas as we do our land and skies. I'm very grateful to the people, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and my colleague (Dutch) Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren for the decision to provide 2 Alkmaar-class minehunters for the Ukrainian navy," he said on social media.

Reznikov welcomed Ollongren to southern Ukraine this week for talks on the Netherlands' military assistance for his country. The Dutch Defense Ministry said the two discussed fortification of the coastal defenses and protection for vessels carrying grain across the Black Sea.

The two minesweepers will be provided starting 2025, while Ukrainian crews will start their training in the second half of this year. Ukraine will also receive drone-detecting radars and bridge and ferrying systems that enable rapid bridge building.