The Defense Ministry of Ukraine is considering possible joint use of the Ukraina missile cruiser with other states, First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Oliynyk has said.
“As for the Ukraina cruiser, we are thinking over the issue [the cruiser’s fate] with many states, including Russia, as the cruiser could be used jointly [with other states] in future,” he told a press briefing on Feb. 21.
The official stressed that the issue is uneasy and Ukraine has been working on it for more than 10 years.
As reported, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is planning to spend Hr 6.363 million in 2013 on the maintenance and repair of the Ukraina missile cruiser at the facilities of the 61 Communards Shipyard (Mykolaiv).
The construction of the Ukraina missile cruiser (formerly known as the Admiral Flota Lobov, renamed in 1998) was launched at the 61 Communards Shipyard in Mykolaiv in 1984 under a contract with the Soviet Navy and was to become the fourth warship of Project 1164, known as Atlant.
The cruiser was launched in 1990, but its construction was suspended due to a lack of funding in 1996. The cruiser was to join the Ukrainian navy in 2000 or 2001, but later it was decided that the national navy did not need a warship of this class. Its manufacturer currently funds the ship’s maintenance, which costs about Hr 5 million per year.
Russia, China and India were considered as the potential buyers of the cruiser.
