Look, up in the sky... (04/20/97)

Look, up in the sky...

by R.L. Chomiak
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

WASHINGTON - As you read this, a Ukrainian military observation aircraft may be photographing your lawn.

The "Blakytna Stezha" (Azure Observer) Squad landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington on April 16. It is the first - yes, first - aircraft of the former Warsaw Pact forces to spy openly on the United States, as part of the Open Skies Treaty first negotiated in 1989 and signed in 1992.

In accordance with the treaty, the Ukrainian observers told the Americans where they would like to fly only after landing at Dulles, and began their flyovers 24 hours later from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Maj. Gen. Mykola Honcharenko, chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Verification Center, and about 30 military observers were on board. They were hosted by the American On-Site Inspection Agency (OSIA) people, including Ukrainian American Maj. Orest "OJ" Jowyk, U.S. Air Force, chief of the Operations and Plans Branch of the Open Skies Division.

Blakytna Stezha is a Kyiv-designed Antonov-30 aircraft, with cameras and sensors, and a big golden trident on the tail. The plane's short range meant the trip from Kyiv to Washington took four days, with stops in Germany, England, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and Bangor, Maine.

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