Moscow - Seventy-nine ships of the Ukrainian Navy have stayed in Crimea, Russian Navy Commander Viktor Chirkov said.
“Ships of the Ukrainian Black Sea Fleet – 79 ships, among them 25 warships and support vessels, – stay in Crimea and Sevastopol,” Chirkov said at a joint meeting of the Federation Council’s Defense and Security Committee and International Affairs Committee on Tuesday. The meeting was dedicated to the denouncement of the Russian-Ukrainian agreements on the Black Sea Fleet.
The transfer of these ships to Ukraine is being prepared, he said.
“We are conducting an audit of the ships and drawing up transfer schedules. Once the procedures are done, the ships and vessels will be transferred to the Ukrainian Navy consistent with the decision of the Russian defense minister,” the Russian Navy commander said.
As to how many servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stationed in Crimea had expressed the wish to serve in the Russian Armed Forces, Chirkov said, “A large number of Ukrainian servicemen have agreed to serve in the Russian Armed Forces, including the Russian Navy. They have expressed the wish to serve on the Crimean Peninsula and have been offered [the opportunity] to serve and protect the Russian national interests in any other place.”
