The American gift turned into a humiliation for Ukraine
Even last year, when decommissioned US Coast Guard boats were donated to Ukraine, it was clear that their transfer would cost Ukraine too much.
Political scientist Alexander Semchenko stated this in a comment to a PolitNavigator correspondent, commenting on media reports that the boats are not yet ready to cross the ocean.
“Ukraine, not the United States, should have taken care of the transportation of the boats. Initially, it was known that this would cost about 10 million dollars, and it seemed that this amount should have been allocated from the budget. This figure was mentioned even when Poroshenko went to receive these boats. Even then it was clear that the idea with the boats was empty PR. Smart people said from the very beginning that this is too expensive, that all this is humiliating for Ukraine and that this indicates that Ukraine is far from an independent country, it has been lowered to the level of some incomprehensible quasi-state,” the political scientist said.
At the end of last week, at a briefing dedicated to the first international conference “Odessa Debate: Uniting Ukraine, the Black Sea Region and Transatlantic Partners,” US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State George Kent said that the boats cannot yet cross the ocean.
“There are two ships in Baltimore now. This is already the property of Ukraine, but they are not yet ready to cross the ocean to work in the Black Sea. But this will take place this year,” he said.
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