Monday, September 30, 2019

Ukrainian Army Inducts Turkish Combat Drones


September 30, 2019 (DefenceWorld.net) Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2 combat drones were pressed to service by the Ukrainian Army, the country’s defense ministry announced on Saturday. Ukraine announced the deal for the purchase of Turkish combat drones for its army in mid-January. Turkish UAV manufacturer Baykar was to produce six Bayraktar TB2 and deliver them to Ukraine in a year. Along with the UAVs, three ground control station systems and equipment was also mentioned to be delivered.The value of the contract is not known.

The TB2 armed UAV, was developed for tactical reconnaissance and surveillance missions and it can also carry ammo, do assaults, and has laser target acquisition. It has a service ceiling of 8,239 meters (27,030 feet) and a flight endurance of 24 hours. It can carry 150 kilograms (330 pounds) of payload and can be operated day and night.

One of Ukraine's largest exhibitions on Donbas war opens in Kyiv


September 30, 2019 (UNIAN) One of Ukraine's largest exhibitions on the war of Donbas has opened in Kyiv. The Ukrainian East project features real artifacts collected not only by museum workers, but also by the military, the families of victims and journalists, the TV news service TSN reported.

On display are over 10,000 items collected during the war. These are documents, and personal belongings, Ukrainian flags, uniforms, books, weapons, eyewitness evidence, traffic signs, and even a piano. The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II (27 Lavrska Street) houses the exhibition. The Ukrainian East project has been implemented with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, Amuseum, and the Luhansk Regional Museum.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Zelensky, Trump holding bilateral meeting in New York (video)

September 29, 2019 (UNIAN) Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and Donald Trump of the United States are holding a bilateral meeting in New York City. This was reported by the Office of the President of Ukraine. The negotiations are taking place on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly. Prior to that, Zelensky and Trump met at an official reception organized by the U.S.President and First Lady on September 24. As UNIAN reported earlier, Zelensky on September 24 attended the opening of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York. 
On the sidelines of the session, he held a series of meetings with heads of state and international organizations, and also communicated with members of business circles and investors. On September 25, Zelensky delivered a speech during the high-level General Debate of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

PARTICIPATION IN TEKNOFEST ISTANBUL AEROSPACE AND TECHNOLOGY FESTIVAL 2019 BECAME A NEW STEP TOWARDS COOPERATION WITH TYURKEY IN AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY

September 24, 2019 (antonov.com) Within a period between 17th and 22nd of September 2019, ANTONOV Company took part in TEKNOFEST ISTANBUL Aerospace and Technology Festival 2019. The Company’s delegation was headed by Oleksandr Donets, President of ANTONOV Company.


In the course of presentation of modern ANTONOV’s aviation programmes the meetings at the high state level were conducted. Aivaras Abromavichius, director general of SC Ukroboronprom, Serhiy Kryvonos, Deputy Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in the Republic of Turkey Andrii Sybiha took part in the negotiations from Ukrainian party. Suleyman Soylu, Minister of the Interior in the Republic of Turkey, together with Arsen Avakov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine visited AN-178 aircraft. “AN-178 is a very good airplane. Besides, our helicopters Mi-17 are being modernized in Ukraine. This is an example of very successful cooperation with you”, – quoted Mr. Soylu by press service of Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. Summarizing results of ANTONOV’s participation in TEKNOFEST ISTANBUL Aerospace and Technology Festival 2019, head of the Company Oleksandr Donets noted: “This event was very important for us to provide manufacturers of Turkey with further information about modern ANTONOV’s projects. We had possibility to discuss directions of future cooperation. The key event of the negotiation process was meeting with Ismail Demir, President of Defense Industries in the Republic of Turkey, and Mustafa Varank, Minister of Industry and Technology in the Republic of Turkey. Aspects of strategic partnership in aircraft industry were set”.

Monday, September 23, 2019

Today Poltava celebrates the Liberation Day

September 23, 2019 On September 23, 1943 the Red Army liberated the city of Poltava, that has been turned by German army into a powerful defense center in the Ukraine to the east of the Dnieper. In the fighting for the liberation of the town of Poltava, troops commanded by Lieutenant General Zhadov, Lieutenant General Managarov and airmen commanded by Lieutenant General of Aviation Goryunov, distinguished themselves, especially the 9th Guards Airborne Division (Colonel Sazonov), the 13th Guards Red Banner Infantry Division (Major General Baklanov), the 66th Guards Infantry Division (Major General Yakshin), the 95th Guards Infantry Division (Major General Nikichenko), the 97th Guards Infantry Division (Colonel Antsiferov), the 84th Kharkov Infantry Division (Major General Bunyashin), the 42nd Light Artillery Brigade (Colonel Skorodumov), the 301st Anti-tank Artillery Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Vlassenko), the 57th Tank Regiment (Lieutenant Colonel Federov), the 431st Engineering Battalion (Lieutenant Colonel Boltusevich), the 294th Fighter Aviation Division (Lieutenant Colonel Taranenko) and the 266th Attack Aviation Division (Colonel Rodyakin). A unique picture below was taken by the Soviet press photographer Yakov Ryumkin during the fighting somewhere near Poltava in late September 1943. As you can see the master had no time to adjust his camera during such a quick advance of the Soviet combat group. On the background you can see battered German self-propelled gun.

It was very dangerous to shoot such photos when bullets whistled over his camera but nevertheless many military press photographers risked their lives to capture WWII as it really was. 

Photographer Yakov Ryumkin near the Brandenburg Gate (Potsdam). The photo was taken in 1945.

The Memorial to the Soldiers' Glory in Poltava

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Following in the tracks of the Roos’ battalions

September 21, 2019 Today the Museum of the Battle of Poltava conducted for the first time a somewhat unusual excursion dedicated to the Via Dolorosa that the Dalarna regiment had passed during the Battle of Poltava on June 28, 1709. Most of Poltava inhabitants who attended this very interesting excursion learned about it from the Facebook social network. This is undoubtedly something new and fresh in the activities of this 110- year-old museum.

Excursion started from the place where the column of the Swedish Army under the command of the Major General Carl Gustaf  Roos  was deployed early morning June 28, 1709. Here all participants of the excursion got a copy of the map, that was published in 1918 by the General Stuff of the Swedish Army, with highlighted route that the Dalarna regiment had passed during the Battle of Poltava. Besides all participants got a Swedish infantry uniform, musket’s replicas, and disguised themselves as a Swedish warriors.


First stop was made near the assumed place where the first Russian redoubt was built on the eve of the battle (although it was half-finished). It was pointed out that all archeological examinations of the battlefield carried out by Bo Krarrström and his team proved that this redoubt was located some other place. The next stop was near the second redoubt that was taken quickly by two battalions of the Dalarna regiment and all its defenders, except for those who fled were cut down to the last man. They didn’t know what is in store for them…

After that we headed for the third Russian redoubt where Swedish losses were very heavy. Roughly 1100 men were killed of the original 2600. Colonel Gustaf Henrik von Siegroth was deadly wounded there. Of the regiment's 21 captains only four survived. Here Major General Carl Gustaf Roos decided to gather up and ordered his force to march to the verge of the wood nearby.


The last place we visited today was the place where Roos’ detachment engaged in an unequal struggle against Russians.  In the summer of 1911 Carl Bennedich and Frei Rydeberg, two Swedish lieutenants from the Northern Scania Regiment, discovered a big burial ground here.


After that we returned to the museum where discussed what happened next to the Major General  Roos' force. Those survived on the battle field marched to the place where the Swedish infantry had been deployed on the eve of the battle. Finally they have found a refuge in an abandoned redoubt north of Poltava where they were in a short time surrounded by superior Russian detachment with artillery. After deliberating with his officers Major General Roos decided to surrender. Of the original force of 3,000 men only 400 survived.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Ex-president says Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons due to threat of US sanctions


September 20, 2019 (TASS). Ukraine had to renounce nuclear weapons complying with the demands of Western countries, former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk told the Russia’s 24 TV. According to President Kravchuk, Ukraine had to destroy its nuclear arsenal under the threat of US sanctions. "We were presented with a challenge - either we lay down our nuclear weapons, or they will put economic pressure on us, including sanctions," the former president said. Kravchuk stressed that Western countries did not want to lose control of nuclear weapons and therefore exerted economic pressure on Ukraine.

 He added that he had no regrets about his consent to destroy his country’s nuclear arsenal. After the break-up of the USSR, Ukraine had an impressive nuclear capability. However, its nuclear arsenal was destroyed in 1994 after it joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Kravchuk earlier said that Ukraine would resemble "a monkey with a grenade," it if did not give up nuclear weapons.



Thursday, September 19, 2019

Zelensky-Trump meeting in New York is slated for next week


September 19, 2019 (UNIAN) An upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in New York City is slated for next week. "The Vice President spoke by phone today [September 18] with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to follow up on their productive September 1 meeting in Warsaw and discussed President Trump's upcoming meeting with President Zelensky next week at the UN General Assembly in New York," according to the readout of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's phone call with Zelensky, which was posted on the White House's website on September 18.
Zelensky is to meet Trump next week / Photo from president.gov.ua


The Vice President commended President Zelensky's administration for its bold action to tackle corruption through legislative reforms, and offered full U.S. support for those efforts, it said. What is more, Pence reiterated the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. As UNIAN reported earlier, the Ukrainian President's Office said that during the phone call with Mike Pence on September 18, Zelensky said he hoped for an increase in Ukraine security assistance.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Estonian president: War in Donbas cannot be over at cost of Ukraine’s sovereignty


September 14, 2019 (Kyiv Post) President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid has said that Ukraine and international society should search for a decision how to end war in Donbas, and a recent mutual release of hostages could be a remarkable step on the way towards this, as was reported on the president’s website.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky meets President of Estonia Kersti Kaljulaid in Kyiv on Sept. 13, 2019.

 “Though this cannot happen at the cost of Ukraine’s sovereignty,” she said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sept. 13. The Estonian leader stressed that the war in eastern Ukraine and the occupation of Crimea were unacceptable things and it would be reiterated on the international level.

Sunday, September 8, 2019

Ukraine-Russia prisoner swap


September 8, 2019 (UNIAN) The press service of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has posted a full list of Ukrainians who returned home on September 7, 2019 as part of a prisoner swap between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Read also Plane with Ukrainian political prisoners lands in Boryspil. The list includes 11 political prisoners: Roman Sushchenko, Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Volodymyr Balukh, Stanislav Klykh, Mykola Karpiuk, Oleksiy Syzonovych, Pavlo Hryb, Edem Bekirov, Yevhen Panov, and Artur Panov. In addition, 24 Ukrainians sailors captured by the Russian Federation in the Kerch Strait on November 25, 2018 were freed yesterday.

As BBC reported Russia has not yet confirmed the names of the prisoners who have been released by Ukraine. It arranged a low-profile arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo airport, with initial reunions kept behind closed doors. In Ukraine, the scene was very different. The prisoners freed by Russia reunited with their relatives on the tarmac at Kiev's Boryspil airport, surrounded by the press. The Ukrainian government has since published a list of the 35 prisoners released by Russia. It includes 24 Ukrainian sailors whom Russia detained off Crimea in November last year. But the most significant and controversial person Ukraine sent to Russia is Volodymyr Tsemakh, reportedly a commander of air defences for Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. Mr Tsemakh, 58, is a "person of interest" in the Dutch-led investigation into the 2014 shooting down over Ukraine of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which led to the deaths of all 298 people on board.

Monday, September 2, 2019

German President Asks for 'Forgiveness' as He Marks 80th Anniversary of WWII Start Date in Poland


September 1, 2019 (time.com) Germany’s president expressed deep remorse for the suffering his nation inflicted on Poland and the rest of Europe during World War II, warning of the dangers of nationalism as world leaders gathered Sunday in the country where the war started at incalculable costs. “This war was a German crime,” President Frank-Walter Steinmeier told Poland’s top leaders, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other world leaders at a 80th anniversary ceremony marking World’s War II’s outbreak.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks at the commemoration ceremony of the 80th anniversary of the start of World War II, in Wielun, Poland, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2019.

Also in attendance were elderly Polish war veterans wearing military uniforms and a Holocaust survivor wearing a yellow Star of David and the striped clothes that prisoners wore at Nazi German death camps. Steinmeier expressed his sorrow over the mass killings Adolf Hitler’s regime committed in Poland, which paid a huge price for being the place war began on Sept. 1, 1939. The German president expressed gratitude to Poles for the gestures of forgiveness Poland has bestowed in return.
I bow in mourning to the suffering of the victims,” Steinmeier said. “I ask for forgiveness for Germany’s historical debt. I affirm our lasting responsibility.
Two weeks after the German invasion, the Soviet army invaded Poland from the east, putting the country under a dual occupation that came with atrocities committed by two invaders. By the war’s end nearly six years later, about 6 million Polish citizens had been killed, more than half of them Jews. Polish President Andrzej Duda recalled Poland’s immense suffering and he appealed to those assembled not to close their eyes now to imperial tendencies and border changes imposed through force. Duda cited aggression against Georgia and Ukraine, and though he didn’t name Russia, it was clear he found that country at fault as the aggressor. “Recently in Europe we are dealing with a return of imperialist tendencies, with attempts to change borders by force, with aggression against countries,” President Andrzej Duda said. “Turning a blind eye is not the recipe for preserving peace. It is a simple way to embolden aggressive personalities, a simple way to, in fact, give consent to further attacks.” German president had a modern-day warning of his own — about the dangers of nationalism — and described European unity as a guarantee for peace in the future.
Polish authorities didn’t invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend anniversary events because of Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and support for separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine. Russia’s recent rehabilitation of the Stalinist era, and a pact Soviet leader Josef Stalin made with Hitler that led to Poland’s dismemberment in 1939, were apparently also behind the decisions not to invite Putin. That represented a change from 10 years ago, when Putin was invited amid attempts to thaw relations between the West and Russia at the time. 
President Donald Trump had originally been scheduled to attend the event, but canceled as Hurricane Dorian barreled toward the U.S. Pence spoke on behalf of the United States in Warsaw. “While the hearts of every American are with our fellow citizens in the path of a massive storm, today we remember how the gathering storm of the 20th century broke into warfare and invasion followed by unspeakable hardship and heroism of the Polish people,” he said. Pence said the Polish people “never lost hope” and “never gave in to despair.