The United States government is to allocate nearly $4 million to construct coast guard encampments in key Ukrainian port cities of Mariupol and Berdyansk on the Azov Sea coast to help deter Russian military threat, as Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service reported on Nov. 18.
The project is expected to be completed by June 2021 and financed via the U.S. Department of State’s Export Control and Related Border Security (EXBS) program, according to the statement.
“After the (Ukrainian) military vessels were withdrawn from (Russian-occupied) Crimea, we had an urgent need… to develop and sometimes even to create from scratch a new coast guard infrastructure,” said Rear Admiral Oleh Kostur, the regional coast guard detachment leader.
“This project is one of the best instances of our international cooperation, mutual understanding, and the assistance of our American colleagues and partners.”
The program includes the construction of full-fledged living quarters for Ukraine’s coast guard personnel in Mariupol and Berdyansk, as well as a complete overhaul of local off-shore structures and sea bottom cleaning.
The U.S. personnel is also expected to carry out practical courses for Ukrainian servicemembers in maritime law enforcement.
Tensions in the Sea of Azov, used by Ukraine and Russia, escalated sharply in 2018 as the Kremlin completed constructing a bridge between occupied Crimea and mainland Russia.
Ever since then, Russian coast guard vessels have been harassing Ukrainian commercial cargo shipment in the region, threatening key ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol.
In late November 2018, the crisis culminated in a Russian attack against Ukrainian military vessels as they tried to cross the Kerch Strait and enter the Sea of Azov.
As a result, all 26 Ukrainian sailors were taken prisoner, six among them injured. In September 2019, the sailors were freed by Russia as part of a prisoner swap with Ukraine.
Following the attack, Ukraine initiated the construction of a brand new naval base in Berdyansk in order to enhance its extremely weak presence in the aquatic region.
