Russia sank the Henichesk in 2022. In June, a ship bearing its name will join Ukraine’s Navy — but cannot sail home yet

The Netherlands will formally transfer Ukraine's fifth minesweeper in June, according to the Ukrainian President's website. The ship will bear the name of a Ukrainian vessel Russia destroyed in combat in 2022 and will join a growing Western-supplied mine-clearing fleet currently based in the UK.

Zelenskyy and Jetten visit crew training in Vlissingen

On 16 April, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten met with Ukrainian servicemen training on the Alkmaar-class mine countermeasure vessel Zr. Ms. Makkum in Vlissingen, southwestern Netherlands.

The minehunter's commander briefed both leaders on the progress of training. A significant portion of the Ukrainian sailors have real combat experience, including at sea. The crew works with various types of underwater drones — remotely operated vehicles used to search for, identify, and neutralize mines.

The Netherlands will complete crew training and formally hand over the vessel in June. Zelenskyy noted this is already the fifth ship in Ukraine's future mine-clearing fleet and the second donation from the Netherlands. The ship will carry the name Henichesk and is planned to participate in the Sea Breeze exercise in 2027.

Five minehunters

The four ships Ukraine already holds are Cherkasy and Chernihiv — Sandown-class minehunters from the UK — and Mariupol and Melitopol, Alkmaar-class vessels from Belgium and the Netherlands. With the new Henichesk, also of the Alkmaar class, all five will remain in the UK. After the war ends, they will return to Ukrainian waters for demining operations and will significantly strengthen the Navy's capabilities, Zelenskyy said.

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The original Henichesk

Henichesk is a Ukrainian port city on the Sea of Azov in the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast. In June 2022, Russian aircraft sank a Ukrainian minesweeper bearing the city’s name near the Kinburn Spit while it was on a combat mission. 

The ship's commander, Captain Oleksandr Boychuk — known for resisting Russia's seizure of the vessel during the 2014 annexation of Crimea — spent over three years in Russian captivity before Ukraine freed him in a prisoner swap in August 2025.