Ukraine scuttles its only decent warship

Ukraine has deliberately scuttled its flagship frigate to prevent the Russians from seizing it as a war trophy. The commanding officer of the Hetman Sagaydachny, a 3,100-ton Krivak III-class frigate , received orders to sink the ship, as Russian amphibious forces appeared poised to carry out an assault on the main Black Sea port of Odessa. The 30-year-old frigate now lies half-submerged in the port of Nikolaev, about 80 miles from Odessa. In an emotional Facebook message, Oleksiy Reznikov, the Ukrainian defence minister, said: “The commander of the flagman [sic]of the military ordered to flood the ship so that the Hetman Sagaydachny frigate which was under repair, did not reach the enemy.” “It’s hard to imagine a more difficult decision for a brave warrior and the entire team. But we’re building a new fleet. The modern, the powerful. The main thing now is to stand up,” he said. Urging Ukrainians to continue resisting the Russian invading force, the defence minister said the “enemy is confused and intimidated” and claimed “the Kremlin rats are already trembling”. The Hetman Sagaydachny was the sole frigate of the Ukrainian navy. After the Russia annexation of Crimea in 2014, Ukraine not only lost its main naval base at Sevastopol but also 12 of its 17 principal combat warships. The frigate with its 100m deck gun, anti-submarine grenade launchers, torpedo tubes and a helicopter, was the pride of the Ukrainian navy. The other ships that survived the annexing of Crimea included a landing ship, an inshore minesweeper, a support ship and a few auxiliaries. Since 2014 the Ukrainian navy had added seven home-produced patrol craft. The defence minister’s comment about Ukraine building a new navy was a reference to the purchase of Island-class patrol boats from the US and two Sandown-class minehunters from the UK. Ukraine also signed a $236 million contract in December, 2020, to buy two Ada-class corvettes from Turkey. The first corvette was due to have been delivered by the end of next year.