The United States Coast Guard is due to transfer two patrol boats to Ukraine amid rising tensions in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov region.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Coast Guard Vice Admiral Michael McAllister are expected to take part in an ownership transfer ceremony on Sept. 27 in Baltimore, an eastern coastal city 50 kilometers from Washington D.C.
Ukraine will take possession of two 110-foot Island-class cutters and sail them to the Black Sea.
The vessels are designed for swift coastal defense and are typically armed with a 25 mm machine gun and four .50-caliber machine guns. However, the vessels will be supplied without weapons.
The transfer takes place amid increased tensions between Ukraine and Russia on the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. Russian activities there, in particular the stopping and boarding of merchant shipping, have attracted increased criticism of the Kremlin from Ukraine’s Western allies.
Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have all accused Moscow of interfering with Ukrainian shipping in the region in recent months.
“The United States condemns Russia’s harassment of international shipping in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait,” State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a statement late last month, as reported by CNN.
“Russia has delayed hundreds of commercial vessels since April and in recent weeks has stopped at least 16 commercial ships attempting to reach Ukrainian ports,” she added.
The transfer of the two U.S. patrol ships follows last week’s commitment by the United Kingdom to bolster Ukraine’s coastal and naval defenses.
The UK’s defense secretary, Gavin Williamson, reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to building up Ukraine’s defense capacity. He announced that the Royal Navy will increase their presence in the Black Sea and Royal Marine commandos will be deployed to Ukraine for the first time.
Williamson also said that the UK Defense Section in Kyiv would be expanded, training would be increased, and a permanent Naval Attaché would be established to help build Ukrainian naval capability.
“By extending and expanding our training programs, we are sending a clear message – we support the people of Ukraine and are firmly committed to its sovereignty as it faces down blatant Russian aggression,” Williamson said in an official statement last week.
