Zelenskyy wants to send Ukrainian troops to Türkiye and UK - Reasons explained
Photo: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to send Ukrainian troops for training in Türkiye and the United Kingdom, according to the website of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament - ed.).
The explanatory note states that the security situation in Ukraine requires sending military personnel to train in other countries. However, this cannot currently be done by sea, as Türkiye, under the Montreux Convention, does not open the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits to warring parties.
The adoption of the law will allow measures to ensure Ukraine’s national security and defense.
The bill proposes approving the deployment of:
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The Navy corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa with its regular crew of up to 106 servicemen to Türkiye;
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The mine countermeasure vessels Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Mariupol, Melitopol, and Henichesk (each with a crew of 39), as well as 20 servicemen from the 1st Division of Mine Countermeasure Ships of the Ukrainian Navy Flotilla to the United Kingdom.
The implementation of the law will also help improve the process of receiving military equipment from partner countries, staffing relevant units with personnel and equipment received, the mastering and preparation for use of which requires long training cycles, the document states.
The Montreux Convention is an international agreement of 1936 regulating the passage of military and civilian vessels through the Bosporus and Dardanelles, connecting the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
The convention defines Türkiye’s rights as the controlling party of the straits, establishes rules for the passage of neutral and Black Sea states, limits the tonnage and presence of foreign military ships in the Black Sea, and allows Türkiye to ensure the security of the straits in peacetime and wartime.
The convention’s goal is to balance freedom of navigation with the security of the coastal state.
About the corvette Ivan Mazepa
Hetman Ivan Mazepa (hull number F211) is an anti-submarine corvette of the Ada class, built by Türkiye for Ukraine at a shipyard in Istanbul.
As early as March 2024, it was reported that Ukrainian personnel were already undergoing training for future service on the Hetman Ivan Mazepa.
