KIEV, Feb. 5 - A merchant ship carrying tanks and weapons held by pirates off the coast of Somalia since September has been freed, Ukraine's president announced Thursday.

A spokesman for the owners of the MV Faina said on Wednesday that a ransom was paid on to the pirates. The brief statement from the office of President Viktor Yushchenko did not refer to a ransom, but said the ship was freed as the result of an operation involving special-services agents from Ukraine.