KIEV, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Cargo ship "Ocean Grand" carrying two Island-class patrol boats granted to Kiev by the United States entered the territorial waters of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Naval Forces said Tuesday in a statement on Facebook.
The vessels, part of Washington's security assistance to Kiev, are intended to boost maritime safety in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, the statement said.
The patrol boats, named after the Ukrainian cities "Sumy" and "Fastiv," will dock in the Black Sea port of Odesa before being put into operation, it said.
According to the statement, a group of Ukrainian marines underwent a six-week training course in the United States on how to operate Island-class patrol boats.
The United States sent the ships from its port of Baltimore to Ukraine on Nov. 8.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, the vessels will help strengthen Ukraine's maritime security and bolster the Ukrainian Navy's interoperability with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Since 2014, the United States has provided more than 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in security assistance to Ukraine. In November 2019, Kiev received another two Island-class patrol boats from Washington.
Last month, Ukraine received three batches of technical assistance from the United States worth 60 million dollars, including medical equipment, ammunition, high-precision weapons and radar surveillance equipment. Enditem