The commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, Vice Admiral Ihor Voronchenko said that Russia has been disassembling seized Ukrainian vessels and scavenging them for parts.

"Ukrainian ships are anchored separately; they are singled out as the equipment of a foreign country but to our knowledge they exist as spare parts donors," Voronchenko said on Monday night, February 27 on 5 Kanal TV.

"For example, our ship Konstantin Olshansky, which is a Project 775-class landing ship is used as a spare parts donor. Ternopil and Lutsk are used to repair small anti-submarine ships, which are supposedly now on duty near our gas fields… I am confident that through diplomatic efforts, the efforts of the international community, we can still achieve some kind of solution to this problem. Either we receive monetary compensation or the ships should be returned but in their original state," Voronchenko said.

It was after the occupation of the Crimea that Ukraine lost much of its navy. Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine’s only submarine, the Konstantin Olshansky and other ships and boats.

In the summer of 2014, Russia unilaterally stopped all negotiations on the return of arms, equipment and property of the Ukrainian Navy. Until then, hundreds of vessels were returned from the Crimea, including three warships, 32 support vessels, 1,438 automobiles, armored vehicles and special equipment and 24 aircraft and helicopters. In the Crimea, there yet remained 11 warships and boats, 6 ships and support vessels, 2,363 automobiles, armored vehicles and special equipment, 3 aircraft and 6 coastal anti-ship complexes. This data was provided by the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine to People's Deputy Dmytro Tymchuk in March 2015.

At the end of 2016, the Ukrainian Navy was replenished by two small armored Project 58155 Gurza-M gunboats, the Ackermann and the Berdyansk. Four similar boats are being built, as well as two Centaur-class Project 58181 combat boats.

  Ukraine, Crimea, Russia, Ukrainian Navy

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