HISTORY
This MiG-29, which was originally used by the Ukrainian aerobatic
group Falcons, has been put back into service thanks to the
delivery of spare parts.
From the Davis-Monthan base in Tucson, a US C-17 transported
a Mi-8MTV V5 helicopter that was originally destined for
Afghanistan but has now been donated to Ukraine.
together again the Ukrainian AF could deploy
them just in time when they were needed the
most, in Donbas and Kherson fighting.
Besides the fighters the numerous helicopter deliveries are headed for Ukraine. Starting in April in total 20 Mi-17V5 helicopters
were delivered from the USA. The Ukrainians deploy them together with their Mi-8s.
In case of the “American” helicopters these
were the airplanes originally destined for
Afghanistan.
In the end of May Czech Republic confirmed
delivery of 12 Mi-24 combat helicopters to
Ukraine. The media informed about Mi-24D
version, but such a thing is not possible, because Mi-24D helicopters were scrapped
several years ago in the Czech Republic and
they can be found there only as museum
exhibits. The information about what was in
fact delivered is classified of course, but it
is not difficult to guess that, given the number, these were some Mi-24V or even Mi-35s
that were probably intended for sale prior to
the delivery of the H-1 helicopters, which the
Czech Republic ordered as a replacement for
the Hinds in the number of 12 units. According to some reports, these Hinds have also
undergone a partial modernization and maybe an overhaul, but official sources are silent
on the subject... Thirdly, Slovakia announced
delivery of their helicopters. On Wednesday
June 15, Slovak Minister of Defense Jaroslav
Naď made an announcement also saying
that the helicopters already safely arrived in
Ukraine. There were four Mi-17 and one Mi-2
supplied. Slovakia stuck these of charge after receiving UH-60M Black Hawks.
Drones from auctions and fund raising
Ukrajinské ozbrojené sily získali netradičThe
Ukrainian armed forces obtained several
drones in rather unorthodox way. For example, the Ukrainian group Kalush Orchestra,
who on May 14 won the Eurovision competition with the song Stefania, contributed to
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INFO Eduard
their purchase. On the following day the photographs appeared on the social networks
showing the messages ridiculing the group
which Russians inscribed on the bombs
consequently dropped on the Ukrainian cities. Kalush Orchestra reacted in a way that
ultimately will freeze the smile on the Russian soldiers‘ faces. As a winning price the
group received a crystal microphone which
they in the end of May listed on the internet
auction. The trophy was sold for 900,000
USD. The pink hat, worn by the singer Oleh
Psiuk during the Eurovision performance,
was sold in auction for another 370,000 USD.
Altogether the band raised 1.27 million USD.
These money will be used to purchase the
Ukraine-made PD-2 drones. The Ukrainian
army uses them for reconnaissance, localizing the targets and artillery fire guidance.
In the end of May a fund raising took place in
Lithuania to purchase TB2 Bayraktar drone.
In couple of day almost 6 million EUR was
raised. Shortly after the rumors from Russia
spread stating that this particular drone was
shot down 3.5 minutes after its take off. The
Lithuanians calmly reacted that this drone
was still being manufactured and delivery
would take another three weeks at least.
Turkish manufacturer Baykar however refused to accept the fund-raising money from
the Lithuanian representatives and offered
the drone free of charge.
“Turkey was highly impressed by the determination of the Lithuanian citizens to help
Ukraine and that the funds were raised so
quickly, and the name Bayraktar was spoken around the world”, said the fund-raising
organizer Andrius Tapinas. Due to that, 1.5
million EUR raised was transferred to the
Lithuanian Ministry of Defense who use
these money to purchase the ammunition
for Bayraktar. The remaining 4.4 million EUR,
Lithuanians raised almost 6 million euros to purchase Bayraktar for Ukraine.
July 2022