KIEV, August 24 (AVN) - A military parade was held in Kiev on Friday on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Ukraine's independence.
The parade was the biggest in the history of independent Ukraine. It involved over 6,500 servicemen, 332 pieces of ground military vehicles and 42 aircraft. Servicemen marching in one of the 19 sections of combat order were dressed in the Cossack uniform. The parade ended with the flight of Ukrainian Air Force planes and helicopters over Kiev. Among the planes were AN-225 Mria (NATO codename Cossack), AN-124 Ruslan (NATO codename Condor), AN-74TK-300 Coaler and AN-140.
The Ukrainian leadership, Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Alexander Kwasniewski of Poland and Boris Trajkovski of Macedonia, US congressmen, diplomats and numerous visitors of the Ukrainian capital attended the event.