The Ukrainian Navy has lost the Sloviansk patrol boat and the Henichesk minesweeper during the war with Russia.
The Office of the President of Ukraine announced this in a statement during the presentation of awards to members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in commemoration of Ukraine’s Independence Day, the Liga publication reports.
According to the Office of the President, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi personally presented the "Cross of Combat Merit" award to the commander of the Netishyn diving support vessel, Mykola Sokolovskyi. Staff Sergeant Sokolovskyi took part in the search for the dead crews of the Sloviansk boat and the Henichesk minesweeper.
The "Return Alive" foundation’s head Taras Chmut later confirmed on Twitter that the Russian occupiers fired cruise missiles at the Sloviansk boat and Henichesk minesweeper from an aircraft in Novofedorivka during combat missions. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already taken revenge for them.
Mayor of Yuzhne Vadym Novatskyi said that the Sloviansk patrol boat sank on 3 March because of a Russian attack.
The Sloviansk patrol boat belongs to the Island-class of high-speed patrol boats used by the United States Coast Guard and designed for patrolling and search-and-rescue operations in coastal waters. The United States donated it to Ukraine in September 2019.
The Henichesk is a Ukrainian Navy coastal minesweeper. The vessel is famous because its commander and entire crew refused to defect to the Russian invaders during the occupation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia.
