Force Commander of United Nations Stabilization Mission in Democratic Republic of Congo highly estimated Ukrainian helicopter crews
Recently, the activation of illegal armed groups has been intensifying in the North Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is considered to be due to the presidential elections scheduled for December 23. As far as the United Nations Stabilization Mission in DR Congo sees the election race as one of the key elements for democratic elections, and as a result, normalizing the situation in the country, the Force Commander personally visited the troublingregion.
Because of constant battles at the destination point, as well as the complexity and importance of the task, it was assigned to the most trained crews, the Ukrainian. Service personnel of the Ukrainian national contingent have the experience of delivering material and personnel to the UN base Semuliki — the most remoteand located directly among the jungle at the bank of the same-name river. In addition, Ukrainian helicopters have been involved in combat operations in the area for plenty of times.
Initially, the crew of the Mi-8 of the Ukrainian contingent commanded by the commander of18th separate helicopter detachment, sniper-pilot, Colonel Vitalii Tsapko, delivered the Commander from the city of Goma to the UN base near the city of Beni, where the headquarters of the Mission Sector is located. After the meeting with the Sector Command, a flight to Semulikibegan. The cover of the transport board was provided by a pair of Ukrainian Mi-24, carrying combat alert at the airfield of Beni. During the work of the Commander on the ground, crews of combat helicopters performed patrolmissions in the area.
During the visit to the Semuliki base, the Force Commander learned about the situation firsthand, directly from the base troops and their commanders. As a result, a number of measures wereplanned to strengthen positions in the region in order to secure democratic processes, protect local civilians and the peacekeepers themselves.
The implementation of these measures involves theparticipation of helicopter crewsof the 18th separate helicopter detachment, therefore we can be sure that in the nearest future the troops of the Ukrainian national contingent will have a lot ofopportunities to once again demonstrate the world their personal professionalism, the reliability of our country as a partner and strength as an ally — just as they did it this time.
Assistant commander of the 18th separate helicopter detachment on communications with mass media, 1 st Lieutenant Andrii Ostapiuk