Ukraine: Norway and Britain donate Black Hornet palm drones

They are called Black Hornets. Weighing just 18 grams, they provide information on the battlefield situation. The reason for the drones that will be donated to Ukraine by Norway and Britain, with their procurement cost exceeding 9.29 million euros.

The package will include palm unmanned aerial vehicles, control units, transportation costs, as well as training of military personnel in Ukraine.

Ukraine today celebrates 31 years since its independence from the Soviet Union, while it also marks six months since Russia invaded the country.

The Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its solidarity with the country. “Today marks Ukraine’s Independence Day, but also six months since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Greece reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with Ukraine and its people, as well as its commitment to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of all states.

The president Volodymyr Zelensky he declared that today is an important day for Ukrainians and “for our enemy”. He called on the citizens to faithfully follow the warnings of the authorities and to observe the curfew as there are likely to be “obnoxious Russian provocations”.

Public gatherings have been banned in Kyiv, while a curfew has been imposed in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, which is close to the front line.

“We have many activities planned, which will emphasize the road we have traveled. We have been through it together – Ukrainians in Ukraine, throughout our country – free and temporarily occupied, because our people are fighting everywhere. We are fighting against the most horrific threat to our state, but also at a time when we have achieved the highest degree of national unity,” Zelensky underlined.

Ukrainian authorities have lined up the carcasses of burned-out Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers in central Kiev as war trophies, in a sign of defiance of the enemy.

Independence Day: ‘Please don’t bomb schools, hospitals, orphanages or homes’

Ukraine’s military has urged citizens to take air raid warning sirens seriously. “The Russian occupiers continue to launch air and missile attacks against political targets on the territory of Ukraine. Do not ignore warning sirens,” the army general staff said in a statement early this morning.

The US also estimated that the Russia may take advantage of the day to launch attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure and government buildings. In fact, the American embassy in Kyiv yesterday called on the Americans who remain in Ukraine to leave the country, APE-MPE reports, citing Reuters and DPA.

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Richard Mills warned from the floor of the UN Security Council specifically Russia that “as we approach Ukraine’s Independence Day, the world is watching.” “It goes without saying (…) please don’t bomb schools, hospitals, orphanages or homes,” he stressed.

Thousands of civilians have been killed since the war, and more than a third of Ukraine’s 41 million people have been forced to flee their homes. Cities have been reduced to ruins, while international markets have also been disrupted.

At this time, the conflict seems to have reached a dead end, with no prospect of peace talks on the horizon.

In addition to Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, Russian forces have extended their control over areas of southern Ukraine, including the coasts of the Black and Azov Seas, as well as large parts of the Donbass region comprising the Luhansk provinces and Donetsk.

Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in August 1991, following a failed coup in Moscow and after a large majority of Ukrainians voted in a referendum in favor of the country’s independence.