ORBITAL mission proposes Ukrainian sailors train on Royal Navy ships

The UK's training mission to Ukraine, Operation ORBITAL, has proposed that Ukrainian sailors train on Royal Navy ships, the Ukrainian Navy's press service has reported on Facebook.

"In Odesa, during a coordination meeting between representatives of the Ukrainian Navy and the headquarters of the ORBITAL mission, members of the ORBITAL mission, the proposal was made to conduct training of boat crews and inspection teams of the national fleet on Royal Navy ships this year," the report reads.

The parties discussed the expansion of training, instruction and mentoring for instructors of the 198th Navy Training Center, Diver School, Marine School and the training of the flight crew of the Marine Aviation Brigade as part of the UK's military training mission to Ukraine.

Denmark, Sweden, Canada, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are due to join the UK's training mission in 2021.

Operation ORBITAL was established in 2015 following Russia's occupation of Crimea and in a demonstration of the UK's unwavering support to Ukraine.

This year the Ukrainian Armed Forces plan to take part in 22 multinational exercises, including eight exercises in Ukraine and 14 exercises abroad.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry is working with partners to improve the skills of Ukrainian servicemen in such military training missions as JMTG-U (Joint Multinational Training Group - Ukraine), ORBITAL (the UK's training mission to Ukraine), UNIFIER (the Canadian Armed Forces' training mission) and LMTG-U (the Lithuanian Armed Forces' training mission).

Photo credit: Ukrainian Navy