Ukrainian scientists will use ship to monitor the environmental state of the Black Sea, adding to data on pollution, biodiversity, and the spread of antibiotic resistance in marine animals.
On August 24, 2021, Ukraine celebrated its 30th Independence Day. In honour of this date, a naval parade took place in Odesa. Odesa is one of those Ukrainian ports where the Ukrainian naval forces were relocated after the occupation of Crimea by Russia.
According to the Russian military, HMS Defender was told to change course, and when it failed to do so, a Russian border patrol ship sent several warning shots. The UK government rejected Russia's account of the incident and denied that any warning shots had been fired.
Babcock International Group (Babcock) has signed a tripartite Memorandum of Implementation (MoI) in Odesa with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the UK Government.