Ukraine is to receive the minehunter "Henichesk" from the Netherlands
This was reported by the press service of the Office of the President.
During his visit to the Netherlands, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, together with Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, met with Ukrainian military personnel undergoing training on an Alkmaar-class minehunter. It is noted that the Netherlands will fully train the crew and hand over the vessel to Ukraine as early as June.
“It will be named ‘Henichesk’ – in honour of the vessel Ukraine lost whilst carrying out a combat mission in June 2022 near the Kinburn Spit. The vessel is scheduled to take part in Sea Breeze in 2027,” the press service of the Office of the President reported.
During a meeting with military personnel, Zelenskyy presented the Order of Merit, 2nd Class, to the Chief of Defence of the Netherlands, Onno Eichelsheim, and awarded seven Ukrainian defenders with the ‘For Military Service to Ukraine’ and ‘Defender of the Fatherland’ medals.
It should be noted that the “Henichesk” will be the fifth mine-hunting vessel Ukraine has received from its partners. Four of them were previously transferred by the United Kingdom, Belgium and the Netherlands. The ships are named ‘Cherkasy’, ‘Chernihiv’, ‘Mariupol’ and ‘Melitopol’. Two of them are of the Sandown class, and the other two are of the Alkmaar class.
The Alkmaar is a class of minesweepers developed under an agreement between the navies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. A total of 35 ships were built for the three navies in the 1980s and 1990s. These minesweepers can not only help clear shipping lanes of mines but also serve as logistics vessels for transporting cargo and ammunition.
It should be recalled that the Netherlands’ intention to transfer two minehunters to Ukraine became known back in December 2024. In October 2025, Ukraine received the first vessel from the country – the Vlaardingen (‘Melitopol’).
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