Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak on Wednesday took part in a reception on boards of the Royal Canadian Navy and Spanish Navy frigates Toronto and Santa Maria, part of the NATO ships, moored in Odesa.

"The presence of the NATO Navy in Odesa shows the real assistance of the Alliance to our country in ensuring the safety of navigation in the Black Sea-Azov region and this is very important for us," Poltorak wrote on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

He said that the frigates' visit in Odesa is one of the events of cooperation between Ukraine and the Allies. Its main purpose is to conduct joint training and exercises.

"At a time when the situation in the Black and Azov Seas is extremely dangerous, this event is a signal of true support of Ukraine, a signal of support of the Ukrainian Navy in a process of reformation. This is a very important step in organizing the interaction with partners in order to meet the Alliance's criteria. We need to get maximum compatibility during the execution of combat missions. These issues will be in a focus of our attention," Poltorak said.