Ukraine has received numerous pieces of military equipment from allies across the globe during its war with Russia, which launched an invasion last February 24, but one thing it doesn’t have is a submarine.
Russia provided Ukraine with a Foxtrot-class submarine in 1997 but took it back when it annexed Crimea in 2014, Forbes reported last year.
Rajan Menon, director of the Grand Strategy program at Defense Priorities, said that the submarine initially served in the Soviet Union’s northern fleet.
“Toward the end of the Soviet Union’s days, it was transferred to the Black Sea fleet,” Menon told Newsweek. “And in 1997, I believe, it was given to the Ukrainian Navy. They named it the Zaporizhzhia. Because Zaporizhzhia is both a province and city in Southern Ukraine.” Before the annexation, Ukraine had some issues with the sub, which went back into service around 2006 or 2007, Menon told Newsweek.
“When the Russians took Crimea, they also took that sub,” Menon said. “So the Ukrainians do not have any subs.”
While Ukraine has not had any submarines in the current war, Menon said he doesn’t think it matters, saying that this is “a land war.”
