Portsmouth warship HMS Dragon helps Royal Navy to strengthen Ukranian relations

Type 45 warship HMS Dragon has spent a week in the historic Black Sea port of Odessa, for a high-profile visit to see the Ukranian navy.

Her visit focused on diplomacy and combined training, before paying their respects to the city’s Second World War dead.

Dragon’s visit to Odessa builds on the solid foundations laid by Operation Orbital, which has already seen more than 18,000 Ukrainian troops train alongside UK Armed Forces personnel.

It comes after the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited carrier HMS Prince of Wales in Portsmouth.

Lieutenant Dimitrii Rudnev, in charge of the new Ukrainian reconnaissance ship UKRS Lahuna, was also given a tour of HMS Dragon to see how the Royal Navy conducts complex manoeuvres.

He said: ‘It means a lot to be here on HMS Dragon – particularly so soon after President Zelenskyy visited HMS Prince of Wales in England.

‘Both navies working alongside one another is further affirmation of strong UK-Ukrainian bonds.'

In turn, HMS Dragon’s commanding officer, Commander Giles Palin, turned his ship’s passageways and compartments into a training ground for both elite Ukrainian commando forces, 73rd Marine detachment, who practised board and search skills.

‘We are delighted to be working alongside the Ukrainian Navy while in Odessa – and to be learning valuable insights from one another through joint training,’ he said.

‘We’ve tested our reactions to emergencies through practising advanced fire-fighting techniques and honed the ability of both nations’ specialist teams to conduct interdiction operations through boarding training.

‘By capacity building with allies in this way, we bolster their resilience and ability to defend themselves in the face of any aggression – as well as enabling us to learn from their experiences.’

Odessa itself was laid to waste by the German and Romanian troops during the Second World War, where 60,000 men and women died defending the city.

HMS Dragon’s ship’s company paid their respects to Odessa’s heroes by laying a wreath at the foot of the memorial.

Towards the end of the visit, the Band of the Ukrainian Navy performed on the jetty next to the Portsmouth-based destroyer – with the ship’s company lining the side in appreciation.

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