ODESA, Ukraine – When Odesa Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili visited the Ukrainian navy’s headquarters in Odesa on June 14, the commander set the table, and there was joyous celebration with music, children in attendance and multi-colored balloons. Ukraine’s flagship frigate, the Hetman Sahaidachny, was proudly displayed, while all the navy’s rusty old ships were hidden from view.

“But after that the fairytale ended,” Natalia Zeinalova, a volunteer who works with the government to shape up the Navy, told the Kyiv Post. “It was like when all the tinsel is gone after New Year’s Day.”