Crisis in Ukraine: Daily Briefing – 18 August 2016, 7 PM Kyiv time

The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (RNBO) reported that yesterday the situation on the eastern front intensified. Yesterday, Russian-terrorist forces carried out the most intense shelling in the last year. In total, Russian-terrorist forces fired on Ukrainian positions 96 times – firing over 500 mortar rounds and over 300 artillery rounds at Ukrainian positions. Towards Luhansk, Russian-terrorist forces shelled Ukrainian positions at Popasne with mortars and artillery. At Stanytsia Luhanska, Russian-terrorist forces fired on Ukrainian positions with grenade launchers and machine guns. Towards Donetsk, Russian-terrorist forces carried out intense mortar shelling of Ukrainian positions near Avdiyivka. Russian-terrorist forces shelled Ukrainian positions near the Donetsk airport, Horlivka and Novhorodske with mortars and artillery. Towards Mariupol, Russian-terrorist forces shelled Ukrainian positions at Hranitne with artillery and at Maryinka with mortars. Russian-terrorist forces fired on Ukrainian positions at Talakivka, Vodyane and Shyrokyne. The RNBO reported that in the last 24 hours, three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and six Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action.

Ukraine’s President P. Poroshenko stated today, “The likelihood of escalation of the conflict remains very high. And we are not ruling out a full-scale Russian invasion. […] Today we have a sharp aggravation of the situation in Crimea and in the East. The situation in the East has changed significantly. […] In the last 10 day, the heavy artillery of the terrorists is firing at headquarters and bases 20-25 km behind the line of contact. […] If the escalation continues, by my decree mobilization will be announced and martial law declared. There is nothing more important than Ukraine, the independence of our country, our freedom and our democracy.”

In an article published by Canada’s Department of National Defence on 16 August, the Directorate of Flight Safety, Royal Canadian Air Force stated, “Under Operation UNIFIER, the Canadian Armed Forces has been providing military assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces consisting of capacity-building and training. As part of the operation, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Directorate of Flight Safety is spearheading an initiative to train up to 60 flight safety specialists and commanding officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces before the end of March 2017. The Ukrainian personnel will study the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) aviation safety concepts, aviation safety management system standards, and how Canada is implementing these in the Canadian military. […]The three-week course, which will be housed at the Lviv Military Academy in Ukraine, will use a combination of classroom instruction, discussion of case studies, and individual work assignments to impart the knowledge to the participants.[…] The course encompasses a wide variety of safety-related topics to help document and prevent incidents. The principles of aircraft accident investigation and coordination of emergency response planning will definitely be covered, but the intent of the course is to provide the attendees with an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) certification and an appreciation of the elements of a good safety management system.” The full article is available at http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=canada-takes-aviation-safety-training-to-ukrainian-armed-forces/irrjrhjc

The latest issue of Business Ukraine Magazine (July/August 2016) is dedicated to Canada-Ukraine relations. Business Ukraine stated, “Canada is home to one of the world’s largest Ukrainian diaspora communities and has long ranked among Ukraine’s most important international allies. The signing of a free trade agreement between the two countries during the visit to Ukraine of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in July now promises to usher in a new era of bilateral commercial cooperation and strategic partnership.” The issue is available at http://bunews.com.ua/