PORTSMOUTH, United Kingdom -- Crews from two Ukrainian Navy minehunting vessels are training with the Royal Navy in Britain in preparation of a future mission to clear explosives from the Black Sea.
They would likely be deployed only once a cease-fire between Russia and Ukraine genuinely takes hold.
RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service correspondent Roman Pahulych visited the crews in Portsmouth as they held drills to detect and neutral floating mines.
After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, both countries placed hundreds of mines throughout the Black Sea, mostly to deter coastal attacks. Those explosive now pose a threat to commercial shipping.
"Civilian shipping is one of the largest sectors of the Ukrainian economy," said the captain of the Cherkasy. " If there is a mine threat, civilian ships will not go to ports and there would be no influx of foreign currency."
