NEWS IN BRIEF 

Ukrainian Ombudsman Nina Karpachova met with ambassadors from 24 countries accredited to Ukraine, on OSCE Ambassador Charles Maggi's initiative yesterday. Those present concentrated on financial aid to be provided for the Ombudsman's office forthwith.

Ms. Korpachova was elected to the post this April and the Hr 5 million allocated for financing her apparatus was struck from the budget expense items for reasons still to be established. Unable to buy adequate office equipment and receiving no pay, she has worked effectively, having received over 4,000 written complaints and oral grievances. Charles Maggi called on the other ambassadors to arrange for immediate international financial assistance to the Ukrainian Ombudsman. On behalf of OSCE, he declared  that $5,000 had already been collected. The U.S., British, and Netherlands embassies, along with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said they would follow suit.

US and Ukrainian brass gathered at the Pryluky Air Force Base Monday, September 28, to discuss the procedures of disposing of the first "Black Jack," as the U.S. military nicknamed the TU-160 strategic bomber.

To date, the Ukrainian arsenal registers 19 TU-160 and 25 TU-95 strategic bombers. After fruitless bargaining between Kyiv and Moscow, the National Defense and Security Council resolved to destroy them because of their yearly $1.3 million maintenance costs. The aircraft will be "cut up" toward the end of 2001, along with 1,068 cruise missiles. Their disposal will be financed by the U.S. and implemented by Raytheon, an intigrating contractor.

The historically significant ceremony of destroying the first TU-160 bomber was attended by Deputy Secretary of Defense Edward Warner III. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk was also expected, but one of his deputies arrived instead. Army General Kuzmuk must have felt it would not serve his image to pose in front of the Black Jack after declaring once that no Ukrainian warplanes would be cut up for snow shovels, at least not while he was in command.

Officers and civilian employees at the Pryluky base had not been paid wages for quite some time, which is typical of the Ukrainian Armed Forces where wages are usually delayed for 4-6 months. The officers' wives at the base warned the command that they would block disposal operations if back wages are not redeemed. The command hastily forwarded payroll for two months in default.