City mayors from Ukraine and abroad have met in Kyiv

November 30, 2017 (wnisef.org) On November 28-29, 2017 Kyiv hosted the International Mayors Summit. This forum was held for the second time, covering the innovations and their urban impact. More than 100 Ukrainian mayors, foreign experts and local government leaders from Canada, Israel, Slovakia, Brazil, Sweden, the UK and the Netherlands have attended the Summit. The Netherlands showed a star turn of the event with StartupAmsterdam as its official partner (an organization that focuses on Amsterdam city development) and Prince Constantijn, the younger brother of the King of the Netherlands, as the honorary guest.

The two-day Summit work program offered a variety of formats: speeches of the world-renowned experts, workshops, innovative start-up presentations, Deloitte city progress index, panel discussions, informal meetings and visits to innovative sites. Special panels focused on urban inclusion and the interaction between cities and business. The Summit also served as the presentation site of the Ranking of Ukrainian Cities on the Use of Innovation, and the open voting platform where innovative mayors were chosen by a professional jury along with the inhabitants of the cities.

The full article is available at

http://wnisef.org/medias/prince-netherlands-will-attend-international-mayors-summit-kyiv/

President Poroshenko: an armored vehicle BTR-4MB1 is a fundamental new level of armored vehicles for Ukrainian Armed Forces.

November 29, 2017 (UkrOboronProm) BTR-4MB1, developed in Kharkiv by specialists of Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau, has been introduced for the first time in Ukraine in the framework of the international exhibition "Arms and Security 2017".

The new BTR-4MV1 is equipped with an opto-electronic gun sight with a powerful thermal imager and a high-precision digital fire control system. Due to this, combat vehicle crew is able to destroy the enemy at the maximum range of the weapons not only during the day, but also at night or under the bad weather conditions. In accordance with the latest NATO armament trends, specialists managed to achieve a fundamentally new level of BTR-4protection.

 “BTR-4MB1 provides the highest level of protection for this class of armored vehicles; the modular armor approach and multi-purpose compartments, allowing to room additional fuel tanks, floats or additional armor – we can now re-equip BTR-4MB1 in minimal time. In addition, the use of combat modules also allows replacing of armament of a combat vehicle. As of today, the BTR-4MB1 can be adapted for to perform any task – from patrol to amphibious vehicle for marines. This approach – used in the best samples of armored vehicles of NATO countries, is already implemented in Ukrainian BTR-4", – said the head of “Kharkiv Morozov Machine-Building Design Bureau” Oleksiy Babich.

Ukraine will reduce the maximum allowed speed in the settlements

November 27, 2017 (112.ua) Number of people who annually die as a result of car accidents in Ukraine is equivalent to the numbed of soldiers that died during the whole period of Donbas war. According to data from National Police, 117 thousand road accidents occurred for 9 months of this year. This figure increased by 8.8% compared to 2016. 2,317 people died on the roads.

The most awful car accident have taken place in Kharkiv on October 19, 2017. Lexus RX, with a 20-year-old woman at the wheel ran on red lights which led to a crash with Volkswagen Touareg. In the result of the car accident, Lexus hit the pedestrians, who lined up at the traffic lights waiting to cross Sumska street. Five people died at the scene in the result of the stroke. Please, take into accout that video below is not the faint of heart.

Video of the car accident in Kharkiv on October 19, 2017

 
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine will reduce the maximum allowed speed in Ukrainian settlements from 60 kilometers per hour to 50 km/h starting January 1, 2018, according to Cabinet resolution No. 883 of November 10, published in the official government newspaper Uriadovy Kurier. It is noted that in most EU countries, the speed limit in settlements does not exceed 50 km/h, while the limit is even dropped to 30 km/h in certain areas. The adoption of the corresponding bill will bring the national legislation closer to that of the European Union.

Ukroboronprom undertakes marketing push for Antonov An-178 airlifter

November 27, 2017 (The Quwa Defence News & Analysis Group) Ukraine’s state-owned enterprise Ukroboronprom is marketing the Antonov An-178 military airlifter to prospective clients in the Middle East, starting with Kuwait, Interfax Ukraine and Defence Blog report. The Antonov An-178 is based on the An-148/158-series of regional jet airliners and is designed to replace legacy short/medium-range transport aircraft, such as the Antonov An-12 Cub.

When Antonov revealed the An-178 in 2015, it explicitly stated that it was aiming to provide a markedly cost-effective solution, especially in comparison to comparable Western aircraft. Antonov also promised to expand the An-178’s versatility, such as adapting it for the air-to-air refueling (AAR) role. However, as with many of Ukraine’s marquee defence programs, the An-178’s success seems to be hinged to Kiev’s success in securing an overseas partner to co-fund and induct the platform. The An-132D came to fruition as a result of Saudi Arabia joining and co-funding the program.

In May of this year Ukroboronprom signed a memorandum-of-understanding (MoU) with Turkey’s Aselsan to provide an integrated avionics suite for the An-148-family, which includes the An-178. In 2016, Antonov had posited the option of integrating General Electric or Pratt & Whitney turbofan engines in place of the Ivchenko Progress D-436, which currently powers the An-178.

Antonov An-178. Photo credit Antonov.

  Antonov intends to secure sales for 20 An-178 aircraft for the next five years. Its target markets include Central Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Turkey. Having first flown in May 2015, the An-178 can carry 15 tons in payload to a range of 2,040 km (and at 18 tons 990 km). It is powered by two Ivchenko Progress D-436 turbofan engines, which Antonov claims will provide lower operating costs than four or even turboprop engines. The An-178’s main competitors in its category are the Lockheed Martin C-130J/LM-100J Hercules and Embraer KC-390. While the Hercules and KC-390 each possess greater payload capacity, Antonov can pitch the An-178 as a niche short-haul heavy transport aircraft. Air arms with limited or non-existing long-range transport requirements could use the An-178 for heavy payload tasks. Alternatively, countries with C-130-class (and/or larger) platforms can use the An-178 to handle domestic logistics transport work.

U.S. company already sells lethal weapons to Ukraine

November 23, 2017 (The Voice of America) Texas-based AirTronic USA, Inc., an electromechanical engineering design and manufacturing company, has been shipping lethal weapons, namely shoulder-fired rocket launchers, to Ukraine since 2016, according to journalists of Voice of America (VoA). President and Chief Operating Officer at AirTronic USA Richard Vandiver says that his company began cooperation with Ukraine two years ago, and first batches of Precision Shoulder-fired Rocket Launchers (PSRLs) were shipped to Ukraine in 2016, VoA said. The PSRL is a U.S.-manufactured advanced version of the Soviet-developed RPG-7.

Vandiver says that PSRL shipments continue in "very close coordination" with the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, the U.S. Department of State, the Pentagon, and the Ukrainian government, yet he declines to disclose details. The private arms manufacturer also said it had not been easy to obtain a DSP-5 export license from the U.S. Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, as the supplies should be in line with the Minsk 2 peace agreement on Donbas.

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/2256359-us-company-already-sells-lethal-weapons-to-ukraine.html