Russia to help Ukraine finish construction of missile cruiser

Russia has agreed to help Ukraine finish construction on a missile cruiser, which has been stalled for almost 15 years, the Ukrainian president said on Monday.

Construction of the Slava class Admiral Lobov cruiser was launched in 1984 at the Nikolayev shipyard in Ukraine but stalled during its final stage in the late 1980s due to a sharp reduction in military expenditure. The cruiser was renamed the Ukraina in 1992.

"We have agreed that Russia will complete construction of the Ukraina cruiser," Viktor Yanukovych said at a joint news conference after talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Kiev.

Yanukovych said the cruiser was 95% complete but could not be finished without Russia's help.

According to the latest data, around $30 million is needed to complete the cruiser's construction.

Slava class cruisers were designed as surface strike ships with some anti-aircraft and ASW capability. They carry 16 SS-N-12 Sandbox nuclear-capable supersonic anti-ship missiles, with launchers mounted in four pairs on either side of the superstructure.

Kramer: Ha ha, the Ukraine. Do you know what the Ukraine is? It’s a sitting
duck. A road apple, Newman. The Ukraine is weak. It’s feeble. I think it’s
time to put the hurt on the Ukraine.

Ukrainian: I come from Ukraine. You not say Ukraine weak.

Kramer: Yeah, well we’re playing a game here, pal.

Ukrainian: Ukraine is game to you?! How bout I take your little board and smash
it!!

Yushchenko: Russia blocking poisoning probe
By Bonnie Malkin and agencies, September 12, 2007

Mr Yushchenko before and after the poisoning

"Mr [Viktor] Yushchenko, a pro-European politician who wanted to bring his country out of Russia's shadow, fell seriously ill on September 6, 2004 as he was competing in presidential elections against a pro-Moscow candidate, Viktor Yanukovich, now prime minister.

After months of tests in an Austrian clinic, it was determined that he had ingested a massive amount of the poison dioxin.

Although he survived, his face was left bloated and pockmarked, and he has had to undergo regular treatment to rid his body of the toxin.

In an interview with Le Figaro he said he believed the dioxin used to disfigure him was made in a Russian lab.

Mr Yushchenko did not directly accuse the Russian government of being behind his poisoning, but he did say he had 'practically put all the pieces together' and the attempt against him 'was not a private action'. ..."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562838/Yushchenko-Russia-blocking-poisoning-probe.html
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"Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko (born February 23, 1954) [was] the third and [former] President of Ukraine". He took office on January 23, 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Yushchenko
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(Ukraine) Hunt starts for Yushchenko's poisoner:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/1478922/Hunt-starts-for-Yushchenko%27s-poisoner.html
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pro-Moscow Viktor Yanukovich, new president of the Ukraine

"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century" -Russian leader Vladimir Putin on the collapse of the Soviet Union...
"World democratic opinion has yet to realize the alarming implications of President Vladimir Putin's State of the Union speech on April 25, 2005, in which he said that the collapse of the Soviet Union represented the 'greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century.'
http://www.hooverdigest.org/053/beichman.html

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