The Royal Navy aircraft carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is towed by tugs when it arrives at Portsmouth Naval Base, Great Britain, on 16 August 2017. REUTERS / Peter Nicholls /
British warships will sail to the Black Sea in May amid growing tensions between Ukraine and Russia, the Sunday Times reported, citing high-level naval sources.
The deployment aims to show solidarity with Ukraine and British NATO allies, the newspaper reported.
A Type 45 destroyer armed with anti-aircraft missiles and a Type 23 anti-submarine frigate will leave the Royal Navy task force in the Mediterranean and head through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea, according to the report.
RAF F-35B Lightning stealth aircraft and Merlin submarine fighter helicopters will be ready on the task force’s flagship, carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, to support warships in the Black Sea, according to the report.
Tensions between Moscow and Kiev have been rising amid an accumulation of Russian troops along the border and clashes in eastern Ukraine between the army and pro-Russian separatists. Read more
UK Ministry of Defense officials were not immediately available for comment.
A ministry spokesman told the newspaper that the UK government was working closely with Ukraine to control the situation and continued to call on Russia to de-escalate.
“The United Kingdom and our international allies are firm in our support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” the spokesman told the newspaper.
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