Ukrainian Minesweeper Fends Off Hijacking Attack

The Ukrainian Navy ships in Sevastopol, Crimea continue being targeted by Russian troops and the so called “self-defense units”.

The new victim was Ukrainian minesweeper Cherkassy yesterday morning, which managed to fend off an attack from armed people in speed boats who tried to board and seize the ship, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence informed yesterday.

The Chernihiv crew joined the minesweeper crew as their ship was seized. According to Cherkasy’s crewmember Oleksandr Butnyk, cited by the Ukrainska Pravda online edition, the Ukrainian sailors threw explosive bags into the water to hinder the hijacking.

Konstyantyn Olshansky ship holds the line, too, the MoD said, adding that the moral and psychological state of crew is high, “servicemen are ready to accomplish the tasks assigned.”

The Ukrainian Henichesk ship has been seized together with Ukrainian anti-submarine corvette Ternopil and the Zaporizhzhia, the only Ukrainian Navy submarine.

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Naval Today Staff, March 25, 2014; Image: Ukrainian MoD