Russia destroyed the navy of Ukraine
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Snake Island: A patrol boat for reconstruction of Ukraine from the Soviet Union and Ukraine’s naval faddeevity of the Northern Black Sea
“I can always find a job. He said that he could always find another vessel. “But I cannot find another motherland. I have only one Ukraine. It’s the best place to be right now. Still, it wouldn’t hurt if Ukraine got some bigger boats.
Back in the Dnipro River in Kyiv, the commander of the patrol boat, Anton, explained why he came here, after 20 years on the high seas.
MYRE: Since then, Russia’s navy has been wary of getting too close to the coast and Ukrainian missile range. This caution created enough space for Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to venture out recently to Snake Island, a tiny outpost 20 miles off Ukraine’s Black Sea coast. Zelenskyy only appeared to have protection from a couple of other small inflatable boats when he traveled in a small inflatable boat.
First, Russia wiped out Ukraine’s navy. Now, Russia is blockading Ukraine’s critical grain exports. Greg got to ride on one of the few boats that it has.
“Imagine a presidential order to the naval commander to scuttle the flagship of the Ukrainian navy, like a knife to the heart,” said Foggo. It must have been very difficult.
Myre is “myre.” It seems hard to believe that the Russian and Ukrainian naval fleets operated in the same area when they were both in the Soviet Union. The following year, 2015, Foggo went to Ukraine for NATO Ukrainian naval exercises in Odessa, Ukraine’s other big Black Sea port.
Russia’s dominance of the northern Black Sea means Moscow can keep Ukraine from exporting its abundant grain — and that’s exactly what it’s been doing since July 17.
OLEKSIY NEIZHPAPA: (Through interpreter) We must break Russia’s hold on us. The sea is free for everyone. We will allow it to be free for all countries.
Yet on the Dnipro River just off Kyiv, Ukraine offered a glimpse of those rebuilding efforts. The navy invited an NPR reporter to go on a patrol boat for a ride, that was provided by the U.S. last year.
We have guns. We have grenade launchers. It is quite maneuverable. It’s high speed and it’s vicious when it comes to some assault operations,” said Mykhailo, one of the naval officers on board. Like most military members, he gives just one name.
“I would say that this is a classic river patrol boat, one of those you’ve seen in the Francis Ford Coppola movies,” he said with a smile. Think of the film, Apocalypse. The maritime look has been updated.
“We tried to assist the Ukrainians with rebuilding their navy,” he said. It was a tough exercise. It was successful with lots of allies and partners until 2020.
Zelenskyy had to flee the Moskva with an inflatable boat during the Russian invasion of Ukraine on July 8. “It is a small piece of land that Ukraine will regain”
Zelenskyy made the risky trip in a small, inflatable boat. He only appeared to have protection with a couple of other small inflatable boats.
“Although this is a small piece of land in the middle of our Black Sea, it is great proof that Ukraine will regain every bit of its territory,” Zelenskyy said in a video posted on July 8.
At the start of the Russian invasion a small Ukrainian force was besieged by the Moskva, who demanded that they surrender. One Ukrainian soldier told the Russians to bug off with a memorable obscenity.
