The 14th special Ukrainian helicopter detachment as part of KFOR started being relieved in Kosovo on February 22. The Ukrainian pilots’ performance was commended by a number of officials, including NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson and NATO Commander in Europe General Wesley Clark.
“Our air taxi service has always kept its schedule, taking off and landing on time,” joking said Colonel Valentyn Pistriuha, Ukrainian helicopter flight coordinator. “Ukrainian pilots carry at least twenty KFOR officers and men and 2.5-3 tons of cargo a day,” he added. Lieutenant Colonel Yuri Serdiuk, commander of the 14th Special Detachment, notes that most his men have logged over 400 hours of flight time in the Balkans. Apart from delivering personnel and materiel, scout teams have been parachuted over remote mountain regions. When this author asked whether the officers are issued additional weaponry to provide for emergency situations, L.C. Serdiuk replied in the negative. KFOR regulations read that helicopters must not have any weapons on board and that the crew can be issued only Makarov pistols.
On February 22, The Day was told by the Defense Ministry’s press service that the first five helicopter crews had landed in Pristina. The crews are being relieved by those from Berdychiv.
