President Poroshenko: Knowledge of foreign language opens new world for Ukrainians

December 30, 2016 (UNIAN) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko met with civil activists and summed up the results of the Year of English in Ukraine, according to the president's press service. The President emphasized that even though the Year of English was about to complete, mass study of English in Ukraine will not be finished. He noted that the process was only at the outset. With the support of the international NGOs, complex programs and free-of-charge language courses have been established. They will be continued next year, the press service reported. 

The Head of State noted that knowledge of English was extremely important, for it provided an opportunity to study in prestigious foreign universities, get a prospective job, read original world classic literature, travel freely, be aware of the last news of science and technology, maintain "people to people contact." The President is confident that knowing English opens new horizons for everyone who want to be a part of the modern world. He called this year's project Go Global very important, ambitious and successful. According to Poroshenko, "it is aimed to change Ukraine, make it a real European state for the majority, especially young generation, to have an opportunity to speak English." "Knowing foreign language is a feature that opens new universe for Ukrainians," Poroshenko said.

Read more on UNIAN: http://www.unian.info/society/1702772-poroshenko-on-year-of-english-in-ukraine-knowledge-of-foreign-language-opens-new-world-for-ukrainians.html

Ukrainian Navy will be reinforced with three new «Kentavr» fast assault crafts

December 30, 2016 Ukrainian Navy will be reinforced with three new «Kentavr» fast assault crafts designed by the State Research & Design Shipbuilding Centre and produced by the Leninska Kuznya (Kyiv). The fast assault craft «Kentavr» (Centaur) – is an armored amphibious assault ship built for the Ukrainian Navy. It’s main mission is a fast and secret delivery of marines or special forces, and fire-support of landing operations. Weapons : 

2 combat modules:

• 12.7 mm machine gun
• 40 mm grenade launcher (NATO standard)

As it was reported, on 6 December 2016 the Ukrainian Navy has got two new artillery boats, built in Kyiv. The boats got names “Berdyansk” and “Ackerman”.

The fast assault craft «Kentavr»

Ukraine's main Christmas tree lit up in Kyiv

December 28, 2016 (UNIAN) The main Christmas tree of Ukraine has lit the lights on the St. Sophia Square in Kyiv. The ceremony was attended by First Lady Maryna Poroshenko and Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, the mayor's press service reported. Christmas tree is decorated with three kilometers of garlands, as well as 42,000 lanterns and 1,000 wooden toys, made by craftsmen from Lviv. Christmas town on the St. Sophia Square will run from December 19 until January 15. The main events will be held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and public holidays – St. Nicholas Day, New Year, and Christmas. In general, 15 concert shows are to be held during the celebrations. As in the past year, the Christmas town will cover the St. Sophia and Mykhailivska Squares, as well as Volodymyrskiy Passage Street, which connects them. The main Christmas tree of Ukraine, the scene, a selfie platform, exhibition of toys, made by children from all over Ukraine, are all placed at the St. Sophia Square.

Read more on UNIAN: http://www.unian.info/kiev/1687852-ukraines-main-christmas-tree-lit-up-in-kyiv-photos.html

Russia plane crash: Huge search for bodies in Black Sea

December 26, 2016 (BBC News Europe) Some 3,000 people, including more than 100 divers, as well as ships, planes, helicopters and submersibles are involved in the operation near Sochi. Some fragments of the plane have been found, but initial reports that the fuselage was sighted have been denied. The Tu-154 plane carrying soldiers, musicians and reporters was heading for Syria. The flight had originated in Moscow and landed in Sochi for refuelling. The plane disappeared from radar two minutes after taking off from Sochi's Adler airport at 05:25 (02:25 GMT) on Sunday, heading for Latakia in Syria, the defence ministry said. It was carrying 64 members of the famed Alexandrov military music ensemble, who were to perform for Russian troops in Syria.

The Tu-154 that crashed into the Black Sea is seen at a military airport near Moscow in 2015

Emergency officials said initial information suggested the fuselage was located 27m (89ft) below the surface and 1.7km (one mile) from the shore in the direction of the runway. So far only 11 bodies and 154 body parts have been recovered, but officials believe many more may be trapped inside the remains of the aircraft. Search teams worked through the night in three shifts, and the operation "did not stop for a minute", defence ministry spokesman Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov said at a briefing on Monday.

Tupolev-154: Russian workhorse

• The backbone of Soviet and Russian airlines for decades
• Three engines, narrow-bodied and medium range
• Designed in the mid-60s, came into service in 1972 and was modernised in 1986 with new engines and equipment
• Has seen 39 fatal accidents, although few were due to technical problems. Many were as a result of difficult weather conditions and poor air traffic control. A few were lost in conflicts including in Lebanon, Georgia and Afghanistan
• Not used in Russia's civil aviation since 2009, but is still used by the military. Only about 50 in service worldwide
  

The full article is available at http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-38432800

Radical Ukrainian politician Oleg Lyashko wants nuclear weapons

December 25, 2016 (nuclear-news.net) The Radical Party faction of the Ukrainian parliament is seeking to withdraw Ukraine’s membership of the 1968 international treaty which bans the development of nuclear weapons and keeps nuclear technology in check.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) recognizes only five nations as legitimate possessors of nuclear weapons: China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. A handful of UN members are not signatories to the treaty, including Pakistan and India, which were never part of the NPT but have nuclear weapons of their own, and North Korea, which withdrew in 2003 to develop a nuclear arsenal. Now Kiev may follow Pyongyang’s example if the Radical Party faction in parliament has its way. The party’s leader, Oleg Lyashko, has long called for the government to restore the country’s nuclear capability, which Ukraine briefly possessed in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The number of nuclear warheads deployed on Ukrainian territory by the USSR was only behind those possessed by Russia and the US. But by 1996, all of them had been handed over to Russia, which was busy dismantling a large portion of the costly Soviet nuclear stockpile. In 1994, Ukraine was given security assurances by Russia, the US and the UK in the so-called Budapest Memorandum in exchange for its accession to the NTP. Similar documents were signed with Kazakhstan and Belarus, which were in a comparable position. China and France gave milder commitments to Ukraine in separate statements……..

Oleg Lyashko is a populist politician with a strongly nationalist voter base, and is well known for his publicity stunts. His bill to restore Ukraine’s nuclear status was registered in parliament Tuesday. A date for a committee discussion on the issue is yet to be set. Ukraine’s ability to actually produce a nuclear weapon remains in question. While numerous research and production facilities based in what now is Ukraine were involved in building the Soviet nuclear arsenal, the country’s current economic troubles and technological backslide would make constructing even a simple nuclear device a major challenge – even if the Ukrainian government does undertake such a project.

Ukraine adopts austerity budget along IMF lines

December 22, 2016 (AFP) Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday approved an austerity federal budget for 2017 that doubles minimum wages but keeps the deficit in line with the target set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Lawmakers haggled over the bill into the early morning hours before passing it with some reservations about the social provisions it lacked.

The IMF is keen to see Ukraine keep its deficit to within three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and reduce Soviet-era subsidies that remain a big financial drain. The demands are part of a $17.5-billion (16.8-billion-euro) rescue loan the IMF approved in 2015. Passing the budget was an important requirement for the IMF to release another $1.3 billion tranche of that loan early next year. Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told lawmakers that key sectors would still receive the government's full support.

"We will ensure spending on defence and back the agrarian sector," the Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted Groysman as saying. Ukraine's military spending stands at a whopping five percent of GDP because of the 31-month pro-Russian eastern separatist insurgency the pro-Western country has been battling at the cost of nearly 10,000 lives.

One of the more controversial provisions will see minimum monthly wages double from 1,600 to 3,200 hryvnias ($121). Ukraine remains one of Europe's poorest countries and was also ranked as the continent's most corrupt by the European Court of Auditors this month. The minimum wage increase and higher benefits to the lower paid were a consequence of street protests in Kiev and populist lawmaker demands. But IMF economists worry that the measure may ramp up inflation that has been tempered since reaching more than 45 percent last year.

The Central Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has been able to reduce the interest rate it charges lenders to borrow money to 14 percent because of the slowdown in the cost of living increases. The spending plan envisions a deficit of 3.0 percent of GDP and puts total expenditures at $30 billion - a paltry sum that compares to that of Los Angeles County in the United States.

Some political analysts said lawmakers' tradition of passing federal budgets after pulling allnighters was detrimental for the country as a whole. "In that limited time, they have no way of learning what is actually inside the draft. And some of them simply sleep," political analyst Mykola Davydyuk told AFP. He also noted that Ukraine allotted almost nothing to large infrastructure projects aiming to reduce unemployment and fostering economic growth. The government's latest projections see Ukraine's economy expanding by about one percent.

December 19, 2016 (UNIAN) Russian ambassador gunned down in Ankara, Russian agency says killed (Video) The Russian ambassador to Ankara was shot in an attack at an art gallery in the Turkish capital on Monday and the Russian RIA news agency said he had died of his wounds, according to Reuters.

The Anadolu news agency said the gunman had been "neutralized" soon after the attack, which appeared to mark one of the most serious spillovers of the Syria conflict in Turkey. Relations between Moscow and Ankara have long been fraught over the conflict, the two supporting opposing sides, Reuters said. Ambassador Andrei Karlov made a speech at the opening of a photographic exhibition. Hurriyet newspaper said Turkish special forces had surrounded the building. NTV said three other people were wounded.

A Reuters witness said that while gunfire rang out for some time after the attack, it had now stopped. A Hurriyet newspaper reporter said the attacker chanted Islamist slogans. Russia and Turkey have been involved in conflict in Syria across the border from where over two million Syrian refugees have settled. Turkey has been a staunch opponent of President Bashar al-Assad while Russia has deployed troops and its air force in support of the Syrian leader. Tensions have escalated in recent weeks as Russian-backed Syrian forces have fought for control of the eastern part of the city of Aleppo, triggering a stream of refugees. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack. Islamic State militants have been active in Turkey and carried out several bomb attacks on Turkish targets. A photograph posted on twitter showed a man in a black suit holding a pistol, standing close to a podium in the gallery, its walls hung with pictures. Four people including what appeared to be the ambassador lay on the floor.