Polish partnership boosts Ukrainian naval training amidst rebuilding effort

Poland supports Ukraine not only with equipment but also by training Ukrainian soldiers, including sailors. As reported by the Ukrainian Naval Forces Institute, cadets from Ukraine are participating in training on the sailing ship ORP Iskra and the training vessel ORP Wodnik.

Despite the loss of all larger ships—including the flagship frigate Hetman Sahaydachny—Ukraine intends to rebuild its naval forces. To this end, it has ordered two Ada-class corvettes from Turkey. The first of these, Hetman Ivan Mazepa, began sea trials in May 2024 +0:00 GMT.

Ukraine is also striving to acquire modern submarines; Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk made a call a year ago to transfer a German Type 212A submarine.

Personnel for future Ukrainian ships are being trained abroad, including aboard the Polish vessel ORP Wodnik. This information was shared on the profile of the Ukrainian Naval Forces Institute.

According to the Ukrainians, the cadets, "along with their Polish colleagues, will master navigation, astronavigation, hydrometeorology, and manoeuvring skills. They will familiarise themselves with ship organisation according to NATO standards and the basic technical means of the ship, and they will polish their English."

ORP Wodnik is a Project 888 unit – designed in the 1970s in Poland and built in a short series for Warsaw Pact countries. Poland (Naval Academy in Gdynia) operates one unit of this type.

ORP Wodnik has a displacement of about 2,000 tonnes and is slightly over 72 metres long. It was designed from the ground up as a training unit; therefore – in addition to the 56-man crew – there is space onboard for a 100-person training crew.

In addition to its training function, the ship was converted into a hospital unit during Operation Desert Storm, with its armament removed and space on its aft reserved for a helicopter landing pad.

The current armament of the ship is limited to defensive systems – an automatic AK-230 30mm anti-aircraft gun, a ZU-23-2M Wróbel 23mm set, and a 45mm ceremonial cannon.