Japan handed over medical equipment to Kharkiv military hospital

"Precise and easy to operate, and most importantly, made in Japan"

- This is how the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine Takashi Kurai spoke about the medical equipment that he had the honor of handing over to specialists of the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern Region in Kharkiv. In particular, stationary X-ray remote control DREXZX80 / E6 Remotecontrol R / F system CANON ZEXIRA and two FUJIFILM F82-120T fiber optic bronchodilators were conveyed to the Ukrainian military medical institution. The total value of medical equipment is about UAH 8 million. 

"Since 1991, my country has been providing overall support to the Ukrainian people, and at this point its amount has already exceeded $ 3 billion. Since 2014, this cooperation has only intensified and considerable funds have gone into providing support to military hospitals. I bow my head to all Ukrainian soldiers who died in the East of the country and express my utmost respect for the work of military doctors,” said Takashi Kurai.

The guest of honor also informed that the equipment in Kharkiv is being provided within the framework of a wide program of assistance to the Eastern regions of Ukraine, which were affected by the military action in Donbas. In total, under this international project, the Japanese have already provided support to Ukraine for a total of about $ 51 million. He added that Japan's assistance projects are being implemented in Ukraine in two ways: humanitarian support for victims of the conflict in the East and bilateral defense cooperation. For his part, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Martseniuk thanked the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ukraine for such a strong concern for the defenders of our country. 

From now on, the potential of our military physicians has grown significantly, - he said. - So, there will be a lot more rescued soldiers who participate in fighting in the Donbas or are serving in the East. Hospitals in Kyiv, Kharkiv have already felt your strong support, and soon modern medical equipment - the latest computerized tomograph made in Japan, will be handed over to Lviv as well. By the way, the Japanese side ensured delivery of the equipment to Kharkiv, its setting up, as well as paid a special two-week training of the specialists of the Military Medical Clinical Center of the Northern region in the capital of Ukraine! 

Ukrainian military conduct large-scale drills to work out repelling amphibious assault on Azov Sea coast – JFO HQ

February 29, 2020 (UNIAN) The Ukrainian military has conducted large-scale live-fire drills titled "Tailwind" to work out joint efforts in repelling an amphibious assault on the coast of the Sea of Azov. The drills were held at one of the training grounds within the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) zone. A certain area of the Sea of Azov, where live-fire exercises were carried out, was blocked for maritime navigation and air traffic. "The purpose of the exercises, which, in fact, is the main goal of the Mariupol tactical group, was to prevent the landing of enemy forces and repel the advanced enemy amphibious troops, force them back into the sea, and destroy them as they retreat," the JFO HQ said on Facebook. 

Participants in the drills were military units of the Mariupol tactical group, including small armored artillery boats of the Navy, ships from the Marine Guard of the State Border Guard Service, engineering equipment of a separate regiment of operational support, as well as mechanized, tank, artillery, anti-aircraft and special units, naval infantry, crews of army aviation of the Ground Forces and tactical aviation of the Air Force, as well as units of the National Guard of Ukraine. In total, about 400 personnel, five ships, and boats, 25 units of various artillery systems, including multiple launch rocket systems, 13 armored combat vehicles (tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and various types of armored vehicles), two Mi-8 army helicopters and a Mi-14 naval helicopter were involved, as well as two Su-25 attack aircraft and two MiG-29 fighters. "Since the exercises are held in the context of countering Russian aggression and directly in the area of the Joint Forces Operation, the situation was as close as possible to the actual projected developments," reads the report.

Varnitsa, the "new Stockholm"

Few people in Moldova know that in the early eighteen century, a small village of Varnitsa located near Bender (Tighina) was known as the "new Stockholm". After the Battle of Poltava, King Charles XII and Hetman Ivan Mazepa managed to escape with a small detachment and took refuge in Moldavia, a country ruled at that time by Turkish sultan Ahmed III, where they spent a total of five years. As soon as Charles XIIl and his soldiers left their camp in Varnitsa in 1714, Turks wiped it out. In 1925 a memorial was erected on the site where the camp was believed to have been located.

USS Ross en route to the Black Sea

February 23, 2020 (navy.mil) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) began its north-bound international strait transit en route to the Black Sea Feb. 23, 2020, to conduct maritime security operations and enhance regional maritime stability, combined readiness, and naval capability with our NATO allies and partners in the region. This is the first time a U.S. Navy ship has visited the Black Sea since the beginning of 2020. Ross was the last ship to visit in the Black Sea, 2019, marking the 8th by a U.S Navy ship last year.

“With this visit, we are consistently strengthening our relationships with our Black Sea partners,” said Cmdr. John D. John, commanding officer of Ross. “Steady operations in the Black Sea are crucial to building a secure maritime environment and ensuring freedom of navigation.” Ross recently operated with the French aircraft carrier FS Charles de Gaulle (R 91) and as part of Combined Task Force 473 in the Mediterranean during FOCH, a major French navy deployment. Ross provided defensive capabilities for the strike group. In addition to the Ross, this French led deployment brought together, one after the other, forces from Greece, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, providing a training opportunity for all participants to improve combat readiness. The ship’s operations in the Black Sea will strengthen interoperability with NATO allies and partners and demonstrate collective resolve to Black Sea security under Operation Atlantic Resolve. Ross, forward-deployed at Naval Station Rota, Spain, is conducting naval operations in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations in support of U.S. national security interests in Europe. The U.S. Navy routinely operates in the Black Sea consistent with international law, including the Montreux Convention. U.S. 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy, conducts the full spectrum of joint and naval operations, often in concert with allied, and interagency partners, in order to advance U.S. national interests and security and stability in Europe and Africa. In June 2015 the guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG 71) transited the Black Sea during an underway exercise with the Ukrainian navy frigate Hetman Sahaydachniy (U 130). 

The man who immortalized the Nuremberg trials in the drawings

Famous Soviet artist Nikolai Zhukov during the Second World War served as an artilleryman then worked in the editorial office of an army newspaper on the Kalinin Front and at the same time as a war correspondent for the newspaper Pravda.

From the summer of 1943 to 1973, Zhukov was the artistic director of the Mitrofan Grekov Studio of Military Artists. A group of artists from this studio in 1959 created a highly artistic diorama in the Museum of the Battle of Poltava, which reflects the last minutes of the great battle that took place on June 28, 1709.

The diorama in the Museum of the Battle of Poltava created in 1959 by the Mitrofan Grekov Studio of Military Artists.

In mid-January 1946, Nikolai Zhukov, as a correspondent for the newspaper “Pravda”, was sent to the Nuremberg trials as a member of the Soviet delegation. As a person who went through the war from the first to the last day, capturing every day in dozens of drawings, he simply had to attend this terrible trial. For forty days Zhukov was in the courtroom of the tribunal, trying to most fully record all the stages of the historical trial. During his time he made over four hundred drawings: he sketched witnesses of the Soviet prosecution, prosecutors of the Soviet Union, judges and invited guests, correspondents from all countries, as well as all war criminals and their lawyers. These drawings were quickly made in incredibly difficult conditions, from the press places located far from the dock and the judges.

Judges at the Nuremberg trials

Geoffrey Lawrence was the main British judge during the Nuremberg trials and President of the Judicial group.

Hermann Göring and Albert Speer

Alfred Rosenberg and Ernst Kaltenbrunner

Joachim von Ribbentrop and Wilhelm Keitel

Correspondents. 1946. Nuremberg trials

Oт the Valentine's Day, a thematic excursion "The Great Northern War: Stories of Big Love" was held at the Poltava Battle Museum.

On February 14, 2020, on Valentine's Day, a thematic excursion "The Great Northern War: Stories of Big Love" was held at the Poltava Battle Museum.

Love. This high feeling is capable of changing the whole world. How many literary masterpieces, songs, sculptures, and paintings have been devoted to the eternal theme - the theme of love! There are many examples in history when this light feeling not only magnified, made people better and kinder but also destroyed entire cities, states, mercilessly destroyed entire generations, changed the course of history.

During the excursion, the museum visitors heard interesting love stories of those people whose fates were connected with the Cossack era, the Great Northern War: women in the life of Hetman of Ukraine Bohdan Khmelnytsky, romantic relations of the Ukrainian hetman Ivan Mazepa, personal life of Tsar Peter II and King Carl XII, the love of Hetman Philip Orlik and his wife Anna Hertsyk, the history of women who did not leave their loved ones in exile or during military campaigns. Many cadets from Poltava military college were among the guests of the museum on Valentine's Day.

Chernobyl shocker as fungi that eats radiation found inside nuclear reactor

February 8, 2020 (Foxnews.com) A type of black fungus that eats radiation was discovered inside the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. In 1991, the strange fungus was found growing up the walls of the reactor, which baffled scientists due to the extreme, radiation-heavy environment.

Ruined reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, in in 2016 (iStock)

Researchers eventually realized that not only was the fungi impervious to the deadly radiation, it seemed to be attracted to it. A decade later, researchers tested some of the fungi and determined that it had a large amount of the pigment melanin -- which is also found, among other places, in the skin of humans.

Ukraine shows its newest cruise missile in stunning detail

February 14, 2020 (defence-blog.com) The Defense Express Media & Consulting Company has released new footage of the newest Ukrainian RK-360MTs Neptun coastal missile system with R-360 cruise missiles in stunning detail. The Neptune is a coastal missile system designed to engage enemy surface fighting ships and auxiliaries vessels both single and belonging to Task Forces. 

The system consists of an RCP-360 self-propelled command control and communications centre, USPU-360 self-propelled launchers, a TZM-360 transport and reloader machine and special cargo vehicle. The coastal missile system is capable of hitting targets at ranges up to 280 kilometers at any time and under any weather conditions. The R-360 missile weighs 870 kg; the weight of its warhead is 150 kg; its launch speed is about 900 km/h. The Neptune would be able to achieve its full capability if positioned no farther than 25 km from the coastline.

• Full salvo – 24 missiles, ammunition – 72 missiles,
• The time lag between missiles launched in a salvo – 3…5 s.
• Time from the end of mission to ready-to-fire time for the next mission – ≤15 min.
• ASCM Neptune vehicle range – ≤1,000 km.

The composition of the Neptune Battery can be configured to meet specific customer needs. A Neptune battalion would typically consist of: (1) mobile command and control post, (2) three launcher batteries consisting of two launchers USPU-360 each, (3) operational support battery consisting of six transporter/transloader vehicles each carrying one storage/transport/launch canister TPK-360, (4) logistical units. Each Neptune battalion will have a standard missile establishment of 72. The State Enterprise KB Luch R&D Company, Kyiv, is the primary contractor for the Neptune ASCM System. The Neptune Project is a collaboration involving domestic entities only, including but not limited to: Orizon-Navigation, Impulse, Visar, Arsenal TsKB, Radionix, Telecart-Prybor, UkrInMash, Ukrainian Armored Vehicles, Motor-Sich, and KrAZ.

The 7th of February 2020 is the 114th anniversary of Oleg Antonov’s birthday.

February 7, 2020 (antonov.com) Oleg Antonov (7 February 1906 – 4 April 1984) was a prominent Soviet aircraft designer, and the first chief of Antonov - a world-famous aircraft company in Ukraine, later named in his honour.

A series of significant transports followed under Oleg Antonov's direction. Antonov aircraft (design office prefix An-) range from a rugged An-2 (which itself is comparatively large for a biplane) through the An-28 reconnaissance aircraft to the massive An-124 Ruslan strategic airlifter. The quad-turboprop An-12 and its derivatives became the primary Soviet military transport from 1959 onward. While less well known, the An-24, An-26, An-30 and An-32 family of twin-turboprop, high winged, passenger/cargo/troops aircraft predominate in domestic/short-haul air services in the former Soviet Union and parts of the world formerly under Soviet influence. Antonov also oversaw the development of the mid-range (An-72/An-74 jet airplanes family. The world's largest production aircraft, the An-124 Ruslan, flew for the first time in 1982, and its specialised shuttle-carrying/extra-heavy cargo derivative, the An-225 Mriya entered development, still under Antonov's guidance, but did not make its maiden flight until 1989 after the death of Antonov. In November 2004, FAI placed the An-225 in the Guinness Book of Records for its 240 records.

To your attention – video of the ceremony of insertion of his portrait into the honourable gallery of International Hall of Fame, San Diego Air, and Space Museum – SDASM, held on April 17, 1999. This Hall was open in 1965 in honour of the most outstanding persons in the history of global aviation and space innovations. At present, this exposition of the pictorial portraits is placed in the Ford Building, which is one of the most outstanding buildings of San Diego. Laureates of the Hall of Fame are defined by a special committee of the Museum and International voters’ council each year. During 55 years 223 outstanding persons of the aerospace field were included in the honourable gallery. General Designer Oleg Antonov was among them. Oleg Antonov’s portrait for San Diego Museum was painted by American pilot and artist Kirk Craig. There are two master copies. One of them is presented in SDASM and the other one in ANTONOV COMPANY’s Museum in Kyiv.

U.S. holding up $30 mln worth of arms and ammo, Ukraine officials say

February 7, 2020 (UNIAN) Final approval for six arms deals worth roughly $30 million has been held up for more than a year, and Ukraine has no idea why four officials told BuzzFeed News. At the heart of the impeachment saga that ended on Wednesday in Donald Trump's acquittal was $391 million in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine that the U.S. president ordered be withheld. But that aid package, which was eventually released last September, wasn't the only U.S. arms transfer meant for the war-torn country that was held up.

Several direct commercial sales of arms and ammunition to Ukraine faced significant delays at the same time – and they remain mysteriously frozen months later, BuzzFeed News has learned. Now, after a lengthy wait and down payments in the tens of millions of dollars for the equipment, Kyiv wants its money back.

Read more on UNIAN: https://www.unian.info/politics/10863587-u-s-holding-up-30-mln-worth-of-arms-and-ammo-ukraine-officials-say-media.html

The man who is involved in the Gammalsvenskby's life

February 3, 2020 (VIMEO.COM) Zmiyivka, in southern Ukraine, is also known as ”Gammalsvenskby” or ”Old Swedish Village.” The inhabitants of Gammalsvenskby trace their roots back to the 13th century, to Dagö, an island off the coast of Estonia, which was at that time under Swedish rule. When Sweden lost Estonia to Russia in 1721 the Swedes on Dagö found themselves in enemy territory. In 1781 Catherine the Great, the Russian empress forced the 1200 Swedes to leave Dagö and march 1,242 miles to the Dnieper River in Southern Ukraine. 

The people of Ukraine have suffered through wars, pestilence, and famine. Still, the Dagö Swedes have survived and maintained their identity and their language. The old Swedish dialect is still spoken by the elders in the village. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, contact with the motherland, Sweden, has been reestablished and children are learning Swedish in school. Over the last twenty years, many visitors from Sweden have come through here and met the people of the village, but few have become as involved in village life as Tage Brolin. We follow Tage as he visits with the ladies of the village who share their incredible stories of hardship and trials growing up in Ukraine.