Ukrainian Army Women:Figures and Picture

In 2008, about 70 thousand women were serving and working in the Ukrainian army system. Today’s stats are 50,000. Most positions are, of course, “peaceful”. Medical service, liaison, accounting are top 3 vectors. Many women are in technical operation & maintenance, administrative and paperwork, civil connections, translation, supplies, transportation, cynology.
119 girls are studying at military institutions of Ukraine. Under the Soviet Union, civil universities, in addition to professional education, gave basic military training and reserve ranks to the youth of both sexes. Many secondary schools still have defense lessons, both for boys and girls.
18,000 women are in the actual service (80% on contract, 12.6% warrant officers, 6.4% officers, among them 4 colonels). All branches are represented; prevalently, land troups (7,000 women) and air forces (6,500 women). Every day 300 Ukrainian ladies are on duty in air defense. In many divisions, instructors for operating / shooting / driving all sorts of equipment are female.

Moscow, Kiev agree to reduce gas supplies to Ukraine 35% in 2010

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) -- Russia’s Gazprom and Ukraine’s Naftogaz agreed on Tuesday to reduce Russian national gas deliveries by 35% in 2010, from the previously contracted 52 billion cubic meters to 33.75 bcm.
The agreement was reached during a meeting between Gazprom’s chief Alexei Miller and Naftogaz’s Oleh Dubyna. Gazprom also agreed not to use sanctions under a “take or pay” provision in the contract, whereby the buyer has to pay for the entire contracted volume. Instead of 40 billion cubic meters of gas, Ukraine will buy less than 25 billion in 2009. But Russia has said it will not fine Kiev for falling short of contracted volumes due to the ex-Soviet state’s difficult economic situation. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who met on November 19 in the Ukrainian city of Yalta with his counterpart Yulia Tymoshenko, reiterated that no sanctions will be used against Ukraine. Russia, which supplies around one quarter of Europe’s gas, briefly shut down supplies via Ukraine’s pipeline system at the start of the year amid a dispute unpaid bills and new prices. The conflict was resolved in January, when Putin and Tymoshenko reached a deal on imports and transit for 2009. Ukraine transits around 80% of Russia’s Europe-bound gas.

A unique exhibition in Moscow Kremlin is open now

This exhibition, placed in the Assumption Belfry and One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch's Palace, is dedicated to the 300th Anniversary of the greatest event in the Russian history of the XVIIIth century - the Battle of Poltava. About 160 unique items from the Kremlin collections, relating to themes of the battle and Russian glory, are on display. The project participants are the world-known museums, among which are the State Hermitage Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery, State Russian Museum, Swedish Nationalmuseum and the Royal Armoury collection in Stockholm, Dresden State Art Collections. On the pfoto you can see one of exhibits delivered from Sweden, 18th century iron cavalryman's cuirass (No 4906) from Norrkoping. Terms of display: November, 10, 2009 – March, 10, 2010

Some of exhibits you can browse by clicking at following link:

http://www.kreml.ru/en/main/exhibition/?ID=290

Ukrainian diplomas to be recognized in Europe

Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science is introducing the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and the European-style diploma supplement. This will simplify the recognition of Ukrainian higher-education diplomas in Europe and is expected to promote student mobility, the ministry’s press service reports. The innovation is being introduced to meet the requirements of the ECTS Users’ Guide approved by the European Commission on February 6, 2009. ECTS and the European-style diploma supplement are instruments to evaluate student’s academic achievements. They are of common use in all the European higher education space countries (Bologna Process countries) and make it possible to adequately recognize periods of study and higher education diplomas both inside and outside the country. http://www.day.kiev.ua/

One more blast killed eight servicemen in Ulyanovsk

MOSCOW, November 23 (Itar-Tass) One more blast that went off at an ammunition depot in Ulyanovsk killed eight servicemen and wounded another two on Monday.
“A shell exploded at 2.50 p.m. Moscow time when loading the ammunition found after the November 13 fire on an Ural truck at the technical premises of the 31st Navy ammunition depot in Ulyanovsk. Subsequently, the ammunition loaded on the truck to be delivered for further destruction exploded,” spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry Col. Alexei Kuznetsov told Itar-Tass on Monday.
According to the preliminary reports, eight servicemen from the ammunition disposal team were killed in the blast, another two servicemen were hospitalized. The truck loaded with the ammunition burnt down. “The Defence Ministry’s committee is working at the blast site,” the spokesman said.
On November 13, the major fire sparked up at the foresaid ammunition depot as a result of a breach of technology. About 120 tonnes of artillery shells burnt down at the ammunition depot. Two servicemen died in the fire-fighting efforts. A criminal case was instituted over the incident.

http://www.itar-tass.com/

UKRAINE to consider possibility of sending peacekeepers to Afghanistan

KYIV, November 20 (UKRINFORM). The National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine will consider in a closed regime the possibility of sending peacekeepers to Afghanistan, President Viktor Yushchenko said while opening a council meeting on Friday. The participation of Ukrainian peacekeepers in the work of the Lithuanian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team in the Afghan province of Ghor started on May 11, 2005 when a medical officer was sent to serve in a Lithuanian hospital. The current overall number of Ukrainian peacekeepers is ten servicemen.

http://www.ukrinform.ua/eng/

Yushchenko attends Dubai Air Show

KYIV (UKRINFORM) Within the framework of his two-day state visit to the UAE, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has attended the Dubai Air Show on November 17, 2009. The Head of State highlighted the prospects of cooperation between Ukraine and the UAE in the fields of outer space and aircraft engineering, since ANTONOV class planes have long been present in that country's market. "New contracts are being considered, and tomorrow we may get good news from the Dubai Air Show where Ukrainian producers are represented. There is a great need in development of repair and service basis," the President Yushchenko said.

http://www.ukrinform.ua/eng/