This week in history

July 7 1941: The Soviet South-West Front launches a series of combat operations to defend Kyivn that were important in wrecking the Third Reich’s blitzkrieg strategy.

2004: St. Nicholas Church, Ukraine’s first floating church, is consecrated in Kyiv.

July 8 1659: A Ukrainian army led by Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky defeats Russian troops at Konotop.

1997: A Charter on the Special Partnership between NATO and Ukraine is signed in Madrid.

July 9 1783: A decree of the Military Collegium of the Russian empire reorganizes Left-Bank Cossack regiments as regular units of the Russian army.

1997: Ukraine and NATO sign a treaty on cooperation.

July 10 1968: Maksym Rylsky’s Literary-Memorial Museum opens in Kyiv.

1994. Leonid Kuchma wins the second round of the presidential elections.

July 11 1925: Ukrainian National Democratic Alliance (UNDO) is founded in Lviv.

1960: The world’s largest continuous casting installation is launched at the steel works in Stalino (today: Donetsk).

July 12 1911: The first flight of a plane designed by Igor Sikorsky takes off from an airfield in Kyiv with a passenger on board.

1996: In keeping with the new Constitution of Ukraine, the members of  Ukraine’s parliament take an oath of allegiance to the people.

July 13 1935: The Politburo of the CC CP(B)U adopts a resolution disbanding the Ukrainian branch of the Society of Old Bolsheviks.

1945: The Council of People’s Commissars and the CC CP(B)U resolve to set up the Academy of Architecture of the Ukrainian SSR.