During a working trip to the Mykolaiv region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the base of the Naval Forces of Ukraine in Ochakiv. The Head of State inspected the ships of the Navy "Nikopol", "Berdyansk" and "Yana Kapu", which the Russian Federation returned after seizure in November 2018 near the Kerch Strait.
“I am very glad that our military boats are in place. As promised, we returned both our sailors and boats,” the President said.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the equipment and weapons on the ships were partially missing.
“What we saw was a lack of equipment, some weapons were missing. There will be an investigation. We will see all the details,” he stressed.
The Head of State also stressed that the boats would be repaired within three months.
In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with the crew of the ships. The President thanked the sailors for their willingness to continue their service.
It bears reminding that in November 2018, Russia captured Ukrainian warships with 22 sailors and 2 officials of the Security Service of Ukraine on board. They returned to Ukraine on September 7 as part of the mutual release of detained persons by Ukraine and the Russian Federation. The Head of State controlled the issue of release of Ukrainians personally.