Zelensky meets Ukrainian naval personnel training in UK: See what they're training for

The Black Sea, bordered by Russia and Ukraine, is the most mined sea in the world.

It's thought around 900 square kilometres of the Black Sea has been mined, which will take a significant international effort to clear post-conflict. 

As a result, a large multinational exercise took place in the English Channel to help Ukraine deal with the threat of Russian sea mines.

• Ukrainian minehunters prepare for end of the war when skills can be used for real
• Technology used by UK Navy's minehunters that may help Ukraine keep its waters safe
• Vessels from four nations meet in Glasgow ahead of Nato's Exercise Sea Breeze

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky visited more than 200 Ukrainian military personnel as part of Exercise Sea Breeze, who have spent the past three weeks in the UK strengthening warfighting capabilities and counter-mine measures.

The exercise is an opportunity to test the Ukrainian navy crews training in the UK as part of Operation Interflex-Maritime.

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: "The UK's commitment to Ukraine is resolute and steadfast. As Russia continues its barbaric war, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

The annual training has been hosted by the Royal Navy since 2023 and is co-led by the US and Ukraine. 

It’s linked to the wider UK Armed Forces training in support of Ukraine, Operation Interflex, which has been running since June 2022 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Commander Alasdair McGill, the Commanding Officer of Op Interflex-Maritime, told BFBS Forces News: "The mine countermeasure training will ensure Ukraine can clear their own waterways, but then they can also contribute to any international effort that takes place post-conflict. 

"Their main role will be ensuring the safety of navigation within the territorial waters of Ukraine and the safety of entry into their key economic ports."

Throughout the exercise, 750 personnel from Ukraine and multiple Nato nations, including the UK and US, will train in minehunting operations and explosive ordnance disposal with unmanned underwater and surface vessels.

Commodore Dmytro Kovalenko, the Chief of Training Command for the Ukrainian Navy, told BFBS Forces News that so far "we have destroyed more than 1,000 naval mines and mine-like objects". 

"That's why we are still working with our partners on how to train our MCM [mine counter-measure] forces with minimum use of people in the minefields and increasing [the] use of unmanned system[s]."

However, the 1936 Montreux Convention gives Turkey the right to shut the Bosphorus Strait to any warship in time of war and Ankara's decision to refuse Ukraine free passage means Ukraine's mine hunters are currently unable to reach the areas where they are most needed.