Statistics of the marking of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava

About 3,500 local inhabitants and guests have visited Poltava Battle Museum during three jubilee days of July 25th, 26th, and 27th, 2009. The museum has received a profit about 22,000 hryvnas (19,000 SEK) from such a big spate of visitors. The daily norm for museum visitors during 2008 was within 70 - 80 visitors and daily profit – 400 hryvnas, respectively. Such numbers testify a fast growing tourist potential of the city. Now the stuff of the museum is thinking about how to make a flow of tourist to the museum grow. About 5,000 foreign tourists visited Poltava to participate marking of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. Mostly they represented Russia, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and United States. Poltava received 28 official delegations. About 30,000 spectators attended reconstructed Battle of Poltava around newly built redoubt on the battle field. The City Council has expressed satisfaction over the marking was not politicized in spite of a big difference between Swedish, Russian and Ukrainian point of view on the decisive battle of the Stora Nordiska Kriget.

On September 23rd Poltava celebrated the City Day

On September 23rd Poltava celebrated the City Day. 66 years ago Poltava was liberated by advancing troops of the Red Army. A unique photo of the Red Army soldier and Red Flag over the Glory Monument in Poltava was taken by unknown photographer on September 23rd. Poltava was liberated soon after the battle of Kursk. It remains both the largest series of armoured clashes, including the Battle of Prokhorovka, and the costliest single day of aerial warfare to date. It was the last strategic offensive the Germans were able to mount in the east. The resulting decisive Soviet victory gave the Red Army the strategic initiative for the rest of the war. Here is a quotation from the order of Marshal Josef Stalin to Army General Ivan Konev who commanded the Ukrainian Front (later renamed the First Ukrainian Front) dated after September 23rd, 1943.
"Today, September 23, at 21.00 hours the capital of our Motherland, Moscow, on behalf of the Motherland, will salute with 12 artillery salvoes from 124 guns our gallant troops which liberated the town of Poltava. For excellent military operations, I express my thanks to all troops commanded by you who participated in the fighting for the liberation of the town of Poltava. Eternal glory to the heroes who fell in the fight for the freedom and independence of our Motherland. Death to the German invaders!"

Many flowers and wreaths were laid at the Memorial to the Glory of Soldiers on September 23rd. This memorial was opened in October 1969 in Kotlyarevsky Park on the site of the former city cemetery. All remains of the soldiers and officers that had been killed during the liberation of Poltava were moved from Petrovsky Park to the newly unveiled memorial. The Memorial contains 21 common graves and 22 separate graves covered with granite tombstones. The monument itself is shaped in the form of a 22-meter high bayonet and a 6-meter high sculpture of a soldier wearing military gear and holding a shield with a bas relief of the Glory Monument. An Eternal Flame is located at the base of the monument.

Many flowers and wreaths were also laid at the monument to Lieutenant-General Zygin. The monument was unveiled in 1957 on the square named after him. Zygin was promoted in September 1943 to Commander of the 4th Army that participated in the battle for the Dnieper River. Shortly after his promotion, on the 27th of September, his car was blown up by a German mine. Lieutenant-General Zygin was buried in Poltava.

The 100th anniversary of foundation of Poltava Battle Museum

An official ceremony dedicated to the centenary of Poltava Battle Museum has taken place on September 21st, 2009. Museum was founded in 1909 due to the efforts its first director, Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Pavlovsky, who served at the time as a teacher of history at the Poltava Cadet School. The initial display of the one-room museum was not very large. It included old Russian and Swedish firearms and coldsteel, regimental colours and uniforms as well as portraits of the Swedish and Russian commanders. After the Revolution of 1917, the Poltava Battle Museum, as so many other historical sights, was left unattended. In 1950 the museum was reopened in a late 19th century building that had been used as a hospital for disabled veterans of Russian-Turkish war.
As a gift from Poltava Oblast Branch of Raiffeisen Bank Aval for the 100th anniversary Poltava Battle Museum got about 40 copies of unique documents that were discovered by LTC Oleg Bezverkhnii in Krigsarkivet (Stockholm, Sweden) in the University of Helsinki's Slavonic Library (Finland), and in some private Ukrainian archives. All these findings were shown to the Poltava public on June 24th, 2009, on the eve of marking of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. The gift was handed over to the museum by Volodymyr Shyyan, Head of Poltava Oblast Branch of Raiffeisen Bank Aval. The first museum of the Battle of Poltava has been fully reconstructed in its original shape recently. Poltava City Council decided to create a museum of Lieutenant Colonel Ivan Pavlovsky and the first museum of the Poltava Battle Museum in this building soon.
To read more about Poltava Battle Museum in Swedish language click on following link
http://www.battle.poltava.ua/svensk/museum.htm

Ukrainian students take care of Swedish monument

The monument to the fallen Swedish warriors erected by their compatriots near the village Pobyvanka is one of the most interesting sights of the Poltava Battle field. About 5,000 Swedish crowns were collected in the beginning of 20th century from citizens throughout Sweden for a big granite stone (6 m height, 20 ton weight) from the Vånevik quarry in Småland (Kalmar län). The memorial stone was unveiled on June 2nd 1909 close to the hamlet of Pobyvanka without any public ceremony. A small article “De svenskes vård öfver stupade svenska hjältar” dedicated to the event was published on July 7th 1909 in the Swedish newspaper “Stockholms Dagblad.”
Although The City Council of Poltava has discussed what needs to be done to routinely maintain the monument, nothing has been changed recently. Only in 2004 the monument was wholly reconstructed thanks to donation of Tetra Pak Ukraine company. Since that time the monument is almost neglected. On Spetember 19th 2009 a group of students from Poltava Agrarian Academy including three students from Public's Republic of China under the head of LTC Oleg Bezverkhnii and teacher Elena Koschenko have collected a lot of garbage around the monument. During this ecological action Oleg Bezverkhnii has told them a touching story about Great Northern war and it decisive battle.

Students also visited the monument dedicated to the reconciliation between Sweden, Russia, and Ukraine that was opened on June 27th, 2009 when these countries were marking 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.
Learn more about Swedish monument at
http://www.battle.poltava.ua/svensk/swedish_monument.htm

Ukrainian soldiers hospitalized for food poisoning

A group of fifteen soldiers from Presidential Regiment in Kiev were stricken on September 15 with food poisoning after eating bad quality food in regimental canteen, UNIAN news agency reported. According to an official from Land Forces Command press-centre, other 153 servicemen that have been in contact with diseased soldiers were placed in quarantine for further close medical supervision but were reported to be in satisfactory condition. The exact cause of the food poisoning is still being investigated. The results of bacteriological analysis are expected to be ready not earlier than September 21st. The Presidential Regiment in Kiev is undoubtedly one of the most elite regiments in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Tu-22M bombers in Poltava. Chronology of elimination.

The Tu-22M was developed from the earlier Tu-22 design, incorporating variable-geometry outer wing panels. It lacks sufficient range for truly strategic missions and is classified as a medium bomber. The first series production model was the Tu-22M-2 “Backfire”-B (211 built) for the Soviet Air Forces and the Naval Aviation Forces. The ultimate bomber/missile carrying variant is the Tu-22M-3 “Backfire” equipped with one 23-mm cannon in remotely-operated tail turret, AS-4 “Kitchen” stand-off missiles, 6 x AS-16 “Kickback” nuclear missiles, AS-17 “Krypton” and AS-20 “Kayak” air-to-surface missiles. It had the capacity to carry up to 3 tons of free-fall bombs.

1981: Eighteen Tu-22M3 were deployed in Poltava. This variant became operational with 185 Guard Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment at Poltava and also served in Afghanistan.
January 1996: Twenty Tu-22M3 bombers were deployed in Poltava. In January 1996 four Tu-22M3 bombers arrived in Poltava. The bombers were transferred to Ukraine as part of the process of dividing the Black Sea Fleet.
November, 2001: US to help Ukraine eliminate 47 Tu-22M bombers. UNIAN reported on 4 November 2001 that the director of the US SOAE (Strategic Offensive Arms Elimination) program in Ukraine, John Connell, announced that the US government will help Ukraine eliminate 47 Tu-22M bombers.
October 14th, 2002: Ukraine begins Tu-22, Tu-22M bomber elimination under a contract issued by the US company Raytheon and funded by the US government. Bombers were scrapped at Mykolayiv and Poltava air bases. The first bomber was eliminated on 12 November 2002. The last Backfire bomber was destroyed in 2004.

May 29th 2006: A Tu-22 M3 heavy bomber “Backfire” is seen with its fuselage cut in two pieces at a military airfield in the city of Poltava. Only a few pictures were taken by UNIAN news agency and published in the Internet later on. In framework of a U.S.-funded disarmament program, Ukraine is expected to dismantle 31 aircraft in more than two years. Ukraine inherited the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal with the 1991 Soviet Union's collapse, including hundreds of missiles and dozens of strategic bombers. In the former airbase in Poltava there is a monument deicated to 185 Guard Heavy Bomber Aviation Regiment.

Learn more about Tu-22 M3 heavy bomber “Backfire” on Swedish language at
http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-22M
Watch video about Tu-22 M3 heavy bomber “Backfire” at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0_YM_wRq3s&NR=1

Russia and Belarus started a joint military exercise

Russia and Belarus started a large-scale military exercise involving about 12,500 service personnel and up to 200 items of military equipment and hardware, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. The drill, called Zapad 2009 (West 2009), takes place in Russia and Belarus and will end on September 29.
"The plan for the exercises was developed jointly by the Russian and Belarusian Armed Forces General Staffs and is purely defensive," the ministry said, adding that tasks to be practiced include dealing with armed conflicts, natural and man-caused disasters and ensuring strategic deterrence as well as the security of the Russia-Belarus Union State. The ex-Soviet neighbours announced plans in the late 1990s to form a union state in a bid to achieve greater political, economic and military integration, but the project has largely existed on paper. The exercise will, among other things, rehearse interoperability within the framework of the Belarusian-Russian integrated air defence system, which the two countries agreed to establish recently. Russia is represented by the Moscow Military District units, Ground Forces, Air Force, Air Defence Forces, Airborne Troops and Baltic Fleet naval task forces, and Belarus by operational command units, Interior Ministry, Emergencies Ministry and State Security Committee troops. The exercise will involve 5,000-6,000 Russian servicemen and 7,000-8,000 Belarusian servicemen, as well as up to 40 aircraft.

RIA NOVOSTI http://en.rian.ru/

President Yushchenko commented on birth and death rates in Ukraine

Every month Ukraine loses 71 thousand citizens, but 39-40 thousand children are born, President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko declared during the working meeting with industrials and entrepreneurs. At the same time he noted that since January 2009, demographic situation in Ukraine has got better, in particular, average birth rate has increased by 6% and death rate has slightly decreased. . In 2008 Ukraine had 513,997 newborns, which was 37,672 more than in 2007. In Poltava region the rate of mortality exceeds twice the rate of birth. According to the President, the main causes of death are heart and vascular system diseases. Cigarette smoking is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ukraine. About 57 % of men and 10% of women are current smokers. Presidet Victor Yushchenko noted poor diagnostics, low level of preventive measures and treatment of these diseases. According to the Head of the State, cancer takes the second place among diseases in Ukraine. The President pointed out grave situation with tuberculosis; in some regions sickness rate reaches epidemic threshold. One more urgent problem in Ukraine, according to Yushchenko, is AIDS. The population of Ukraine decreased by 229000 persons during 2008. In January 2009 a little more than 46000000 persons lived in the country. In 1992 the total population of Ukraine was estimated to be 52,000,000 persons.

Ukraine dismissed Sir Elton John's adoption request

The world-wide famous signer Sir Elton John visited a hospital for HIV-infected children in the city of Makiyivka (Eastern Ukraine) on September 12th. He and his male partner David Furnish expressed their sincere wish to adopt an HIV-infected boy. Ukrainian Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yuriy Pavlenko said that adoption is not possible because Sir Elton is too old, and not married. Adoptive parents must be married under Ukrainian rules, and although Sir Elton and his partner David Furnish have been joined in a civil ceremony, Ukraine does not recognize same-sex unions. The law in Ukraine also states that adoptive parents should be no more than 45 years older than the child, making Sir Elton, 62, too old.
AP Photo, AP News

http://www.accessnorthga.com/

Russia has issued a three-ruble coin dedicated to the Battle of Poltava

The Central Bank of Russian Federation has issued a three-ruble coin dedicated to the Tercentenary of the Battle of Poltava.
The obverse:
In the centre - the emblem of the Bank of Russia framed by a circle of dots and inscriptions along the rim - on top: “THREE RUBLES”, below: to the left - indications of the precious metal and its fineness, in the centre - the year of issue “2009”, to the right - the fine metal content and the mint trade mark.
The reverse:
In the centre - the profile image of the Peter I, in the background - a detachment warriors in advance, inscription above along the rim: “THE TERCENTENARY OF POLTAVA BATTLE”.
Description that was placed on the web site of the Central Bank of Russian Federation:
“The Poltava Battle (June 27, 1709 - July 9, 1709) - the general engagement of Russian and Swedish troops during the Northern War 1700-1721. In the hard fight, the Russian Army under command of Peter I, routed the Swedish Army of Charles XII. The decisive Victory of Russians in the environs of Poltava led to an change in the Northern War to Russia's benefit and put an end for supremacy of Sweden as the main military power in Europe.”

www.cbr.ru

The reconstructed Common Grave of Russians killed in the Battle of Poltava was opened on the eve of the celebration of 300th anniversary of the battle

Since 1990 the monument that was unveiled in 1895 has been neglected that caused serious damages to granite monument. Inner chapel that has been inaugurated in 1909 has a spherical concrete vault that was just about to collapse. In October 2008 then Russian Ambassador Viktor Chernomyrdin visited Poltava to discuss possibility for Russian Federation to help Ukraine in getting ready for the coming 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.
Viktor Chernomyrdin was Prime Minister of Russia from 1992 to 1998. In 1989, when the Ministry of Oil and Gas was converted into the government company Gazprom, Chernomyrdin was elected its chairman. In May 1992, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Chernomyrdin deputy prime minister in charge of fuel and energy. From 2001 to 2009, he was Russia's ambassador to Ukraine. Just a few day before the celebration of 300th Anniversary of the Battle of Poltava President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev appointed Viktor Chernomyrdin presidential adviser on economic cooperation with CIS member countries and relieved him of his previous duties.
Mr. Chernomyrdin took an active part in reconstruction of the memorial over the common grave of the Russian warriors located on the Battle of Poltava field. According to Mr. Chernomyrdin, Russian party has partially financed the project of the mound memorial restoration, the costs of which amount to $ 3 million.

The reconstruction started on November 2008 and by the early spring 2009 everything was completed. For the present day this monument is only one of the old monuments located on the battle field that looks like it was just built. Mr. Chernomyrdin and Kremlin Chief of Staff Sergey Naryshkin visited the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava on June 27th 2009. They took part in the opening of reconstructed Russian memorial and visited St. Sampsoniy church near the common grave of Russian warriors.

Military show in Kyiv on occasion of Independence Day.

A military parade was held in Kyiv on August 24th on occasion of the 18th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. Around 20 samples of armament and military equipment including tank “Oplot”, S-300 anti-aircraft system, armoured troop-carriers “Cossack”, “Ladya” and “Dozor-B” have been displayed along the Khreschatyk Street from Independence Square to European Square. Around 3,400 of military men and law-enforcers have marched along Khreschatyk Street. Eighteen military bands were playing during the parade. Besides, a total of 35 aircraft, including fighters, bombers, attack planes, eight helicopters and three civil aircraft, flew over the city. At 10p.m. festive fireworks were fired in Kyiv, Sevastopol, Odesa, Kerch, Vinnytsia, Lviv, Zhytomyr, Rivne and Dnipropetrovsk. This has been the fifth Independence Day parade involving military hardware in Ukraine over the years of independence. Similar events took place in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2008. Other parades to mark the Independence Day were held without military weaponry, except for 2005, when there was no military parade at all. 45 pictures taken during the parade in 2008 and 2009 by gifted photographers of news agencies KyivPost and Associated Press now are available at
http://picasaweb.google.ru/Poltavabloggen/IndependenceDay2009KyivUkraine

Ukraine considers housing Euro 2012 fans in army bases

Ukraine's government is considering putting up Euro 2012 fans in unused army bases, as the country still lacks sufficient hotels and is unlikely to build more in time, the Itar-Tass news agency reported Wednesday. The UEFA in April 2007 named Ukraine and Poland co-hosts of Euro 2012. Officials from Ukraine's Euro 2012 organizing committee put forth the idea during meetings in the east Ukrainian city Donetsk, one of the football championship's eight planned game venues. Ukraine is set to offer four game sites, but preparation in the former Soviet republic has fallen behind schedule due to bureaucratic infighting, and financing difficulties. Ukraine's particularly short supply of hotels could be covered by unused military housing, the officials said. The fans-in-army-bases proposal is on the latest in a series of suggestions floated by Ukrainian footballing officials to deal quickly with problems getting ready to host Euro 2012.
Soviet-era river cruise boats, some unused for decades, could be refurbished and tied up at wharves in the cities Kiev, Dnipropetrovsk, and Donetsk to offer sleeping cabins and restaurant service to visitors, according to government plans still under consideration. Weak areas noted by UEFA inspectors in Ukraine include a nationwide hotel room shortage, an outdated road and rail network, weak traditions of customer service, and airports practically unusable to foreign visitors. Ukraine according to UEFA officials is doing best at preparing stadiums, with one state-of-the-art game site opened on Sunday in Donetsk, and work proceeding with full financing in Kharkiv and Kiev. Ukraine's parliament last month overrode a Presidential veto to approved funding for Ukraine's fourth stadium, to be built from the ground up in Lviv. Ukraine could lose rights to host some or even all scheduled Euro 2012 matches, if its preparation effort is not accelerated, UEFA head Michel Platini warned in July. A UEFA board is scheduled to make its next formal review of Ukraine's Euro 2012 preparation effort in December.

The Earth Times
http://www.earthtimes.org/

Russia hopes to keep naval base in Sevastopol

Russia indicated it hoped to keep Ukraine’s city of Sevastopol as the main base for its Black Sea Fleet after the expiry of its lease with Ukraine in 2017, although it is building a new base, according to Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/

"We are not setting such a target -- to depart from Sevastopol -- for ourselves," General Nikolai Makarov, head of Russia`s general staff, said of the port that has been home to the Russian fleet for 225 years. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev transferred the peninsula of Crimea, in which the port lies, from Russia to the then Soviet republic of Ukraine in 1954, which meant the base became Ukrainian property when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Ukraine, which wants closer ties with the West and NATO membership, has said it will not extend Russia`s 20-year lease when it expires in 2017. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko was upset that Russia used the fleet against Georgia during a brief war last August. "We have an agreement in force until 2017. Without a doubt, events can later develop in different directions," Makarov told reporters. Russian politicians and the military have repeatedly said Moscow would like to continue renting Sevastopol for its Black Sea fleet after the lease expires. Earlier on Tuesday the Kremlin announced it would finish building a new base for the fleet by 2016 in Novorossiisk, a statement widely understood to mean this would replace Sevastopol. But Makarov said it could be in addition to Sevastopol. President Dmitry Medvedev flew to Novorossiisk, now an important cargo port and giant oil export terminal but considered to occupy a much less favourable geographical position on the coast than Sevastopol. He also visited the fleet`s flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser, one of the best remaining ships of a once-formidable navy run down in the post-Soviet era. The fate of the Sevastopol base has strong political overtones, seen as it is by Russian nationalists as an eternal part of Russia. Russian-Ukrainian relations have been tense in recent years, with crises erupting over Russian gas deliveries to Ukraine. The new base will hold 80 warships and auxiliary vessels, including newly built ships, and will not disturb the work of the commercial port there, the Kremlin said in its statement. According to data published earlier by Russia`s military, the Black Sea fleet now includes about 50 ships and smaller vessels. It also has up to 80 planes and helicopters and some 13,000 servicemen. REUTERS

The monument to Charles XII and Ivan Mazepa in the village of Digtyarivka.

The monument was inaugurated in the village of Digtyarivka, located in Chernihiv region (oblast) on September 11th 2008. This monument was created in commemoration of the meeting between Swedish King and Ukrainian Hetman that have taken place here on October 30th 1708. Many Ukrainian historians hold that it was an exact place where the decision to form Swedish-Ukrainian military and political alliance has been taken. Two rulers were discussing joint action against Russian Tsar Peter I with a main goal to create an independent Ukrainian state. The monument was erected on donations of 255 members of staff at the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine. This governmental organization grants TV and radio broadcasting licenses, monitors TV and radio broadcasters’ operations in compliance with the media legislation, license terms and conditions as well as their technical standards, introduces sanctions for violators, manages the frequency recourse and elaborates the Electronic Media Development Plan. The monument is shaped as a bell separated into two parts. Left part contains the portrait of the King Charles XII of Sweden and right one – the portrait of Hetman Ivan Mazepa. There are also National Emblems of Sweden and Ukraine over each portrait.

June 27th 2009. Poltava Battle field.

The spirit of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava on June 27th 2009 was not only visiting main sights of the battle field and laying flowers and wreaths on graves and memorials in memory of those who were killed in the decisive battle of the Stora Nordiska Kriget 1700-1721. It essentially represented the universal solidarity of those who are interesting with military history as a thrilling science. In spite of politicization of the Battle of Poltava and its impact on Europe of 18th century many foreigners were attracted to attend the gathering on the battlefield and formed a large crowd from many countries including guests from Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, Canada, Germany, Poland, America and others. In his interview with Ukrainian mass media Poltava Major Andriy Matkovsky said that Organizational committee of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava has been working together with Poltava local police to avoid any fighting caused by political reasons. As a whole the climate on the battlefield was friendly. You can make sure of it by browsing some pictures taken by me on the Poltava Battle field on Jun 27th 2009. To get an access to the virtual album just click on following link.

http://picasaweb.google.ru/Poltavabloggen/Poltava300#

Now an access to the Glory Monument in Poltava is limited.

The Monument of Glory (Segermonumentet) in Poltava has been neglected up to the spring 2009 when Poltava City Council started to get ready for the coming marking of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava. Eighteen cast-iron guns that were used during the battle and then mounted into monument’s foundation have been used as waste-bins for a very long time. Unique bronze decorations on the column, specially created for the monument in St. Petersburg were badly damaged and needed to be reconstructed in its original shape. Russians made a film that among other things shows the poor state of the Glory monument and teenagers drinking vodka on the monument. You can watch this documentary film on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=junT1-UWYwM
On the eve of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava the monument was thoroughly renovated. To limit an access to the monument in the evening the City Council decided to put up a fence around the monument. Entrance gate is open till 9 p.m. to avoid a violation of historical monument by drinking and littering. You can learn more about Segermonumentet in Poltava on
http://www.battle.poltava.ua/svensk/the_glory_monument.htm

Why is Russia afraid of a 300-year-old Ukrainian hero?

This article was written by ADRIAN KARATNYCKY and ALEXANDER J. MOTYL and published on the eve of 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava in Wall Street Journal. Mr. Karatnycky is a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council of the U.S. and Mr. Motyl is professor of political science at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Lord Byron, Pushkin, and Victor Hugo wrote poems about him. Liszt composed a symphonic work in his honor, Tchaikovsky devoted an opera to him, and Gericault painted him tied naked to a horse. In centuries past he was a historical superstar - a poster child for the Romantic era. His name was Ivan Mazepa, a Ukrainian Cossack chieftain who allied with Sweden's Charles XII to fight Russia's Czar Peter the Great at the Battle of Poltava, 300 years ago this week…….

To read a whole article, please, click on following link

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708161090713405.html

A massive power cut hit whole Poltava.

An exceptional thunderstorm that took place on the last day of August caused an extremely powerful strike that put Poltava central high-voltage substation owned by UKRENERGO company out of operation. The strike hit static protection device on diphasic overhead 110kV transmission line. It took 11 minutes for the wrecking crews to resume of power supply for the city with estimated total power consumption at the rate of app. 33 megawatts.

70th anniversary of WWII outbreak

70 years have passed since the beginning of the World War II . The start of the war is generally held to be September 1st, 1939, when Nazi German invaded Poland from the west. From the first day of the war Ukrainians suffered because German bombs killed many Ukrainian civilians in Poland and there were Ukrainians serving in the Polish armed forces. On September17th, 1939 the Red Army invaded Poland from the east. The Soviet government announced that it was acting to protect the Ukrainians and Belarusians who lived in the eastern part of Poland, because the Polish state had collapsed in the face of the German attack and could no longer guarantee the security of its own citizens. The common Soviet-German military parade took place on Common parade of Wehrmacht and Red Army in Brest Litovsk at the end of the Invasion of Poland took place on September 22nd 1939. The most devastating war in history was over only in 1945, almost six years later of German-Soviet invasion of Poland. Ukraine was the greatest victim of World War II, suffering the greatest material damage and the greatest human losses (8,000 which represented 19.1 percent of the total population). The country suffered twice from a "scorched earth" policy conducted by the two greatest powers of this century, Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

General Semen Krivoshein (photo 1) and General Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (photo 2) during the common Soviet - German military parade in Brest Litovsk (photos 3,4). For the first time they met each other in 1929, when Guderian was on the inspection of the tank school near Kazan for the German officers.