Mediaboss Marketing

KIEV, Ukraine Half a year after losing his legs in the war against separatists in Ukraine's east, Lt. Volodymyr Kovalsky showed the strength of his body and spirit in a sports competition for disabled servicemen.

Breathing heavily and soaked in perspiration after the competition's final round of weightlifting, Kovalsky said his infant daughter brought him the will to carry on; she was born a month and a half after he was wounded in March.

"I said to myself, 'I have to live to bring her up,'" the 33-year-old said at the Games of Heroes event in the Ukrainian capital's Palace of Sports.

He was one of about 50 wounded soldiers and veterans participating in the games, which included weightlifting, rope climbing and rowing machines. Some of the participants were in wheelchairs, others walking with prostheses.

About 2,000 spectators cheered them on.

The event was inspired by the Invictus Games project launched by Britain's Prince Harry that has spread internationally.

The organizer, Kiev-based TV producer Eugene Koval, said he had learned about the Invictus Games "and I said to myself: we should help the soldiers, why not do the same stuff here in Ukraine?"

Participants said their aim is to show other wounded servicemen that life should go on even when catastrophe strikes.

"When I was in the hospital, dozens of people who I didn't know at all came to me every day with gifts and words of support and called on me not to give up," said paratrooper captain Serhiy Romanovsky, 26, who lost his right leg in fighting two years ago.

Wladimir Klitschko, Ukraine's former world heavyweight boxing champion, bought Romanovsky a 20,000-euro ($21,000) prosthesis, and Romanovsky is currently training for the Paralympic Games. He still is on active duty, based in Lviv.

Romanovsky said there are close to 1,000 servicemen in Ukraine who have lost limbs in combat operations in the war that began in April 2014.

View original post here:
AP Photos: Ukraine's wounded soldiers get pumped up

Russian hacking to influence the election has dominated the news. But CBS News has also noticed a hacking attack that could be a future means to the U.S. Last weekend, parts of the Ukrainian capitol Kiev went dark. It appears Russia has figured out how to crash a power grid with a click.

Last December, a similar attack occurred when nearly a quarter of a million people lost power in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Ukraine when it was targeted by a suspected Russian attack.

Vasyl Pemchuk is the electric control center manager, and said that when hackers took over their computers, all his workers could do was film it with their cell phones.

It was illogical and chaotic, he said. It seemed like something in a Hollywood movie.

Vasyl Pemchuk in the control center that was hacked

CBS News

The hackers sent emails with infected attachments to power company employees, stealing their login credentials and then taking control of the grids systems to cut the circuit breakers at nearly 60 substations.

The suspected motive for the attack is the war in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists are fighting against Ukrainian government forces.

But hackers could launch a similar attack in the U.S.

We cant just look at the Ukraine attack and go oh were safe against that attack, said Rob Lee, a former cyberwarfare operations officer in the U.S. military, investigated the Ukraine attack.

CBS News

Even if we just lose a portion, right? If we have New York City or Washington D.C. go down for a day, two days, a week, what does life look like at that point? he said.

He said that some U.S. electric utilities have weaker security than Ukraine, and the malicious software the hackers used has already been detected in the U.S.

Its very concerning that these same actors using similar capabilities and tradecraft are preparing and are getting access to these business networks, getting access to portions of the power grid, he said.

In Ukraine, they restarted the power in just hours. But an attack in the U.S. could leave people without electricity for days, or even weeks, according to experts. Because, ironically, Americas advanced, automated grid would be much harder to fix.

2016 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

View post:
Russian hacks into Ukraine power grids a sign of things to ...

About Ukraine

Bridging Europe and Eurasia, Ukraines geography makes it central to regional stability and security. Todays Ukraine struggles to unify with its western neighbors by pursuing pro-European reforms while staving off Russian-backed separatists fighting within its eastern borders. In this context, USAID works with leaders throughout Ukraine to build a stable, democratic, and prosperous future. USAID programs primarily focus on good governance, economic growth, strengthened health services and humanitarian assistance. Since 1992, USAID contributed approximately $1.9 billion to Ukraines economic and social development.

Today, USAID helps mitigate the effects of conflict in Ukraines East and aids Ukraines most vulnerable conflict-affected populations as they adapt from conflict and settle in new communities.

USAID development assistance supports more participatory, transparent, and accountable governance; citizen inclusion in democratic, economic, and social reforms; broad-based resilient economic development; enhanced energy security; and improved health services for Ukrainians.

USAID also supports U.S. Presidential Initiatives on Global Health and Global Climate Change.

Official USAID solicitations occur only through http://www.grants.gov and http://www.fbo.gov

Last updated: December 19, 2016

Originally posted here:
Ukraine | U.S. Agency for International Development

The drills involve the test firing of medium-range surface-to-air missiles, the news agency said.

"Everything goes according to the plan. There is no response from the Russian Federation. Ukrainian military are ready for any developments," Ukrinform cited military spokesman Volodymyr Kryzhanivsky as saying on Ukrainian TV.

Kryzhanivsky reportedly said the drills in southern Ukraine did not pose any threat to Crimea and that Ukraine was acting in accordance with international law.

Russian Transport Minister Maksim Sokolov said Russia would evaluate its response to the drills, Russia's state-run Tass news agency reported.

The transport ministry, Rosaviatsiya, said last week that the planned missile launches were in violation of international agreements and warned they could pose a threat to flights in civil airspace above Crimea, Russia's state-run Sputnik News reported.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said more missiles would be launched Friday, Tass reported.

"Our task is to build the air defense of Kiev and the whole of Ukraine. And no one will stop us," he is quoted as saying.

Russia annexed Crimea, a territory in the former Soviet republic of Ukraine, in March 2014 following tensions with its neighbor.

World leaders managed to install a shaky peace deal in 2015. But violence continues in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, and 2016 has seen an increase in casualties.

According to the United Nations, the conflict has claimed almost 10,000 lives and left hundreds of thousands displaced.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in October that NATO's support for Ukraine was "unwavering" and that it did not and would not recognize Russia's "illegal annexation" of Crimea.

Excerpt from:
Ukraine tests missiles near Russian-annexed Crimea

You should read the Travel Warning for Ukraine before traveling.

Terrorism Activity: Credible information indicates terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Europe. European governments are taking action to guard against terrorist attacks; however, all European countries remain potentially vulnerable to attacks from transnational terrorist organizations.

Small-scale bombings and terrorism incidents continue to occur throughout Ukraine. While most attacks are at night and appear intended to cause property damage and incite fear, some attacks were fatal, targeting populated areas during daylight hours.

Potential for civil disturbances: Large-scale protests have occurred in many cities throughout Ukraine.

Crimea: U.S. citizens are urged to follow the guidance in the Travel Warning for Ukraine and defer all travel to the Crimean Peninsula. The Russian Federation is likely to take further actions in Crimea consistent with their illegal occupation of this part of Ukraine. The international community, including the United States and Ukraine, does not recognize this purported annexation.

Eastern Ukraine: The Department of State also warns U.S. citizens to defer all travel to Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Russian-backed separatists continue to control areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts.

Crime:Tourists may be perceived as wealthy and become easy targets. The police are poorly paid, and historically were known for corruption and soliciting bribes. The Embassy has also received an increase in reports concerning burglaries, robberies and pickpocketing throughout Ukraine.

Refer to theDepartment of State and theFBI for information regarding scams.

Victims of Crime: Report crimes to the local police at 102 and contact the U.S. Embassy at +38 (044) 521-5566 during business hours, or +38 (044) 521-5000 after hours. Remember that local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime.

See our webpage on help for U.S. victims of crime overseas.

We can:

Domestic Violence: U.S. citizen victims of domestic violence may contact the Embassy for assistance.

For further information:

Read more from the original source:
Ukraine - State