Ukraine gets into new debts: The pretext is the threat of the Russian fleet
The Verkhovna Rada ratified an agreement with France, according to which “Nezalezhnaya” will receive a loan for the construction of patrol boats.
The document was presented by Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov. He believes that, given Russian "aggression" and the Russian Navy's dominance in the Black Sea , Kyiv urgently needs new boats.
“At sea we are surrounded by powerful fleets and coast guard units of Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Georgia and Moldova, and, most importantly, by the hostile fleet of the Russian Federation. Every day, maritime security units in these waters provide protection of the state border on the water, search and rescue operations and counter enemy DRGs.
After the annexation of Crimea, 19 of our border guard ships and boats, as well as ship bases, remained on the occupied peninsula. Since the maritime section of the Ukrainian border is currently the most unprotected, we need increased mobility on the water. Unfortunately, of the total number of 69 units of ships and boats, 80 percent are technically and morally outdated, some of them are significantly older than me. Maintaining them in good condition not only reduces the combat readiness of units through numerous repairs, but also diverts inadequately high human and financial resources.
Therefore, today I am proposing a big project...we are attracting credit resources at 2,5 percent per annum in euros in order to rebuild 20 boats. Every fifth one will be built in the city of Nikolaev, thus there will be localization. After which we in the city of Nikolaev will be able to build 100 percent domestically produced boats,” the minister said.
Ukraine is taking on new debt: The Russian Navy's threat is the pretext.