KYIV, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Two refitted former U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats intended to bolster the Ukrainian navy have arrived at the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odessa, the Ukrainian navy said on Tuesday.
“We appreciate the contribution of the United States to deter the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine,” naval commander Oleksiy Neyizhpapa was quoted as saying.
The two new boats are part of a package of assistance to Ukraine that has been worth over $2.5 billion since 2014, the year Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists seized a swathe of eastern Ukraine.
By Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Kevin Liffey, Reuters
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U.S. polar icebreakers Healy and recently acquired Storis are currently operating to the north of the Aleutian Island chain in the American Arctic. This marks the first time since spring 2013 that the Coast Guard has deployed two icebreakers to the region at the same time.
The U.S. continues to monitor extensive Chinese activity in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska just outside the Exclusive Economic Zone. Coast Guard Arctic District deployed a C-130J Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak on August 13 to overfly the vessels.
Less than eight months after acquiring the icebreaking anchor handling tug supply vessel (AHTS) Aiviq from an Edison Chouest Offshore subsidiary for $125m the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned the newly refurbished vessel as icebreaker Storis.
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