Russia destroys the only Antonov AN-225, world's largest plane, during its invasion of Ukraine

Ukraine named the Antonov AN-225 aircraft as “Mriya” or “Dream.” An enormous aircraft, it was powered by six engines and had attained a cult status. It was undergoing repairs at an airfield near Kyiv when the "Russian occupants" attacked and damaged it. The authorities in Ukraine want to rebuild it and says Russia would have to foot the bill of around $3 billion USD. The restoration would require over five years. Ukrainian state defense company Ukroboronprom, manages the Antonov AN-225 and it has been in service for more than three decades ever since the days of the Soviet Union. The incident has affected Ukraine's aviation and air cargo sectors.


The AN-225 has played important roles to help airlift aid during crises in other countries. After the Haiti earthquake of 2010, it delivered relief supplies to the neighboring Dominican Republic. In the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic, the aircraft ferried medical supplies to affected areas. Until now, the Kiev-based Antonov Company built only one AN-225. Its first flight was in 1988 and has been in service ever since. The story of this marvelous aircraft began in the 1960 and '70s. It stemmed from a need to transport large and heavy loads from their places of assembly to the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This was the sprawling spaceport in the deserts of Kazakhstan. It was from here that Yuri Gagarin was launched into space in 1961.
Source -

edition.cnn.com dated 28/2/2022

Ukraine imposes sanctions on Moscow - bans Aeroflot and Transaero flights into the country

Ukraine has indicated that with effect from 25 October it will ban Russian airlines Aeroflot and Transaero from flying into the country – it would be a part of sanctions over Moscow's support for rebels in the east. The announcement was made by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 25 September 2015.
Moreover, Russian transit flights carrying military personnel or dual-use goods would also be banned. Moscow has termed the move as "an act of madness" and has promised a firm response.

Ukraine has already imposed sanctions against 400 people and 90 legal entities - most of them from Russia – who were held responsible for Moscow's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Of course, in a separate development, Ukraine and Russia have reached an agreement on supplies of natural gas to Kiev for the coming winter, ending months of tough negotiations. The deal was brokered by the European Union and was initialed in Brussels.
It requires more refinement before it can be signed.
It may be recalled that past gas disputes between Russia and Ukraine have led to interruptions in supply and had resulted in major disruptions in shipments of Russian gas to EU countries.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Things are still not hunky-dory in Ukraine despite ceasefire

#UkraineCeasefire #Russia #Gazprom #Donetsk #Luhansk Reports indicate that three Ukraine soldiers have been killed and seven others wounded in isolated pockets of violence in the east of the country in spite of a ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels being in place as per agreement arrived in Belarus a fortnight back. Russia has also threatened about cutting off gas supply. This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 27 February 2015.
Of course, both the sides namely the Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian separatists were seen withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line. Heavy equipment like rocket launchers were removed from the rebel stronghold of Donetsk whilst Ukrainian forces withdrew several anti-tank guns from the front line near the town of Artemivsk.
The withdrawal process is being monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and, in the opinion of its officials, Ukraine appears to be at the crossroad between war and peace.
It may be recalled that fighting began in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in April, soon after Russia had annexed Crimea and, till now, it has claimed some 5,800 lives apart from forcing more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes.
Russia is employing arm twisting tactics over gas supply to Ukraine - Kiev has already made a £10m prepayment for gas this week. However, Russia's state-run supplier Gazprom has informed that it would only pay for another day at the current rate. If that actually happens, Ukraine could be cut off and would have to find an alternative.
Cutting off gas supply by Russia to Ukraine s not new – it has done that three times in the past decade. Nearly one third of the European Union's natural gas is sourced from Russia, and 15% of it flows through Ukraine.

Another interesting blog - Citizen Journalist

Another interesting blog - Ramblings

Violence flares up in Donetsk – four killed in shelling of school

A school has been shelled in Donetsk – tis has resulted in four deaths. None of the dead are children but are a teacher and a couple of parents bbc.com. The tragic incident of shelling of the playground has been reported from the rebel-held east Ukrainian city of Donetsk and it happened on the first day of classes.
The school number 57 in the Kievsky district had over 200 people when the playground was shelled – it included 70 children. The students had only now returned to school after the start of the school year was postponed by a month because of the fighting.
Elsewhere, another six people died when a minibus was hit, also in Donetsk.
The school is located 4-Km from Donetsk airport, where rebels have clashed with Ukrainian troops.
Both the sides have blamed the other for the attacks. While the Kiev-controlled regional administration said rebels from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) had opened fire with a multiple-launch rocket system, the DPR deputy leader Andrei Purgin has clarified that Ukrainian rocket launchers had targeted residential areas from as far as 40-Km away.
Incidentally, a fragile ceasefire has been in place in eastern Ukraine since 5 September but the truce has frequently been violated.

Fresh violence leaves 12 dead and 32 injured in Ukraine

The calm and relative peace in eastern Ukraine has been subjected to the worst violence in more than a week with fighting between pro-Russian rebels and government troops in the region – the clashes led to the death of at least 12 people and injuries to another 32.
As indicated by Colonel Andriy Lysenko in a briefing to journalists in Kiev, at least nine troops were killed and 27 had been wounded during clashes in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk yesterday.
In addition, the city council of Donetsk has gone online to indicate that at least three civilians were killed and five wounded in overnight shelling of a residential area in the northern part of the city. Here, the fighting had centered on the government-held airport.
Incidentally, in spite of assurances by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko that his peace plan is working, violence has continued to rear its head despite a cease-fire declared on September. 5. Nearly 3500 people have died ever since fighting began in April.

Pro-Russian activists force Ukraine troops to abandon Luhansk airport

The Ukrainian military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, has confirmed that Kiev's forces had abandoned the airport in Luhansk after it came under attack by a Russian tank battalion. Reports have also come in of fighting at Donetsk airport theguardian.com . The Ukrainian army and volunteer battalions have met with heavy casualties as they tried to retreat from encirclement in the town of Ilovaisk.
Fighting continued in eastern Ukraine even as a new round of talks were due to start in Minsk, Belarus – these talks are aimed at ending the crisis. This would be the first time that the talks would include representatives of the pro-Russian separatist movement.
It is felt that Kiev would not agree to give into demands from the rebel leaders, but the change of the tone indicates that, having boosted the rebels militarily, Moscow could be looking for a compromise solution that will still give it sway over swaths of Ukraine.
Incidentally, the unrest in Ukraine is taking a toll on schooling - in the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, most of the schools did not open due to the chaotic situation, with regular shelling and shortages of water and electricity having created a humanitarian crisis in recent weeks.
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10 Russian soldiers caught in Donetsk - Russia says: they must have crossed the border by mistake

Russia is continuing to insist that it has not sent any military into Ukraine but the fact remains that ten Russian soldiers were found in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and have been detained edition.cnn.com. The country's Security Service has confirmed this even as tensions simmered over the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels.
These 10 Russian soldiers were captured with documents and weapons on them and this automatically shows that Russia is not making correct statements – it has repeatedly denied claims by Kiev that it has sent troops and weapons over the border into Ukraine, where the Ukrainian military is fighting pro-Russian rebels.
The explanation offered by Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoting a source in the Russian Defense Ministry is that the soldiers had been patrolling the border and must have crossed the border by accident at an unmarked point.
This latest development comes as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, meet for the first time since June in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for trade talks related to the Eurasian Customs Union. This is a trade bloc made up of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Senior European Union officials, headed by EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton, are also present in Minsk for the summit.
Some more similar reports ...
UN report reveals that over 3000 killed in Ukraine violence
NATO pushing Russia to the brink with new sanctions
Ukraine and Iraq high on agenda of NATO talks
EU pushing Russia into a corner on Ukraine issue with threats of more sanctions
Pro-Russian activists force Ukraine troops to abandon Luhansk airport
Setback for Ukraine as pro-Russia separatists take over coastal town of Novoazovsk
Poroshenko cancels visit to Turkey because of Russian troop deployments in Ukraine
Russia hoodwinks Ukraine – sends military equipment in guise of humanitarian aid