Question to the Ministry of Defence:

What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of recent Royal Navy deployments to the Black Sea.

HMS DRAGON and HMS ENTERPRISE have both recently operated in the Black Sea conducting a highly successful programme of regional defence engagement activity with Georgia, Ukraine and Romania. This included joint exercising with the Ukrainian and Romanian Navies to share expertise and knowledge, as well as delivery of a package of maritime interdiction training to the Georgian Coastguard. This is a further demonstration of the UK’s ability to provide reassurance to allies and partners, as well as a deterrent effect across the Euro-Atlantic area.