The hull of the future flagship of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette, which is being built in Turkey, is made of steel, which was made at Illich Iron and Steel Works and Azovstal of Metinvest Group, the legendary "participants" in the defense of Mariupol, even before the full-scale war.

According to a press release from the company, when the corvette was laid down at the Turkish shipyard of RMK Marine Shipyard in September 2021, no one could have imagined that in six months the metal of its hull would become exclusive. And then Metinvest transferred 1,000 tonnes of hot-rolled sheet for production of the corvette. Part of the batch was brought directly from Mariupol (Illich Iron and Steel Works), the other from Italian Metinvest Trametal, where rolled products were made from Azovstal slabs.

In February, the Mariupol plants stopped working, followed by months of enemy siege, daily bombardments and shelling. Azovstal has become a symbol of the indestructibility and resilience of Ukrainians, and the pre-war steel of the Mariupol plants has found a new life.

"A lot of outstanding structures were built from the steel of Azovstal – the newest shelter over the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, one of the highest skyscrapers in Europe, protective gateways for Venice. The lion's share of the Ukrainian army is also our steel. And the modern corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa is also made of Mariupol steel. It is really unbelievable that even now, after the destruction, the Mariupol iron and steel works continue to work for the victory of Ukraine," Yuriy Ryzhenkov, general director of Metinvest Group, is quoted by the press service.

On October 2, the Hetman Ivan Mazepa corvette was solemnly launched into the water in Istanbul. Subsequently, the corvette will receive modern weapons and join the ranks of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is with this flagship that a new era of the Ukrainian fleet will begin, the press release emphasizes.

Corvette is a class of multi-purpose warships of the coastal zone, designed for patrol and escort service, anti-submarine and air defense of naval bases. It is one of the most numerous classes of modern warships.

Class and type: Ada-class corvette, hull number: F211, length: 99.5 m, beam: 14.4 m, speed: 29 knots. Cruising range: 1,000 miles at 29 knots, 3,500 miles at 15 knots.

Crew: 93 people, including officers; up to 106 people if necessary.

Ada-class corvettes are modern ships of the coastal zone, performing anti-submarine operations and patrols on the high seas. In their design, the principles of stealth technologies are widely used – reducing visibility in radar, infrared and other observation spectra.