Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system in the Orikhiv sector near the village of Zaporizhzhia in the occupied territory according to the spokesman for the Tavria military unit Dmytro Lykhoviy “This is a modernized air defense system adopted by Russia in 2016 an Osa surface-to-air missile system was destroyed near Velyki Kopani in the Kherson region,” he said Lykhoviy said that another Buk-M1 system was destroyed in the Orikhiv sector over the past two days as well as another Tor and two Buk systems within a week “We can say that a kind of 'genocide' of Russian air defense systems is underway as six such systems have already been destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region since the beginning of the month,” added the spokesman The Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system is one of the most advanced weapons in its class in service with the Russian army It is designed to effectively destroy a wide range of airborne targets Spokesman Lykhoviy reported earlier that Ukrainian units in the southern sector continue defense operation improving tactical position and making progress the Russian troops lack resources for a large-scale offensive Seven unsuccessful attacks by small infantry groups were recorded over the past day Home page » Topics » Farming » Velyki Kopani: Farming in the South of Ukraine The Village of Velyki Kopani is located near Kherson and is known for having one of the largest wholesale vegetable markets called “Nezhdanyi” The market sells products to a considerable amount of retailers and agricultural commercial centers Nearly every household in the village supplies vegetables or fruits to the market local farmer Serhii Kovaliov has been growing and wholesaling cabbage for the past 20 years Tavriia is a region in the South of Ukraine with a well-developed agricultural industry Due to the favorable climate conditions and availability of vast arable lands this area nearby Kherson takes the leading position in growing vegetables and cucurbits crops While local farmers most often grow cabbage and orchards constitute a trademark of the region One of the recent key factors that influenced the activity of Kherson farmers was the shift in Ukrainian trade that began in 2014 Crimea and Donbass used to buy up a larger part of local vegetables these markets are now unavailable for local farmers they decided to search for international market outlets The latter option requires improving the quality of the goods to meet the European standards and requirements the export of Ukrainian fruits to EU countries is increasing and beets remain less competitive products Ukrainian farmers sell their products to the countries of the Middle East One of the challenges that Kherson farmers are facing is creation of specialized associations which would help them to plan and analyze their activity the local farmers have a rather vague understanding of what products and in what amount they should grow and pricing fluctuation for fruits and vegetables Creation of specialized associations would help the farmers to assess all the risks and expenses as well as to invest in shared storehouses The Village of Velyki Kopani is located 47 km away from Kherson in Tavriia The road from Kherson to Crimea goes through the village and you will need just one hour to get from here to the Black Sea coast line The name of the village is related to extracting drinking water on this territory — the locals used to dig shallow holes where ground water was collected and then they would drink it Velyki Kopani became the center of Joined Territorial Community along with the neighboring villages of Dobrosillia and Abrykosivka Oleshkivska Sich (an administrative-military organization of Ukrainian Cossacks — translator) was located not far from this area in the first part of the 18th century thus before the foundation of Velyki Kopani in 1976 Cossacks life was in a full swing here Cattle breeding was the major activity of people who lived on this territory since local sandy soil was pretty infertile because of being cultivated by the basic instruments available at that time economics and trade developed more and locals became more involved in organizing markets and various trading establishments people started growing more crops and orchards here and starting from 50s gardening and wine-growing became widely practiced in the village the majority of the villagers farm for living and almost every household has all the necessary equipment to grow fruits and vegetables for wholesaling and retailing One of the largest agricultural wholesale markets in Ukraine named “Nezhdanyi” is located in the Village of Velyki Kopani Prices at this market influence the prices for fruits vegetables and berries in other regions of Ukraine since the opening price for trading centers retailers and processing companies is set here The market was founded in 1955 and due to the warm climate conditions its specific feature is selling early-season fruits and vegetables since they ripen here two to three weeks earlier than in other regions of Ukraine High season in Nezhdanyi starts in early spring and ends in late autumn The Tavriia Farmers Association has united more than 2000 small households and farmers The purpose of the Association is to protect their interests maintain public control of the authorities and introduce new technologies for growing and processing farm products Local farmer Serhii Kovaliov has been growing vegetables for about 20 years and this is how he earns his living He says that this is the main way of earning money for people from the surrounding villages: — There isn’t much money left on your personal expenses The larger part of the income is invested back into the production It is hard to calculate everything in advance There are whole villages of people like me Everybody tries to think ahead and make things work The Nezhdanyi Market hosts vendors from all the regions of Ukraine Close proximity of the market allows local people to better understand the demand and provide more fresh products: — It is easier to sell products in smaller amounts A large batch will need to be broken into smaller ones to be sold it is easier as we live close to the market and we can come home and bring some more fresh cabbage there is no other way than to transport large amounts of products at a time and divide them into smaller portions it’s easier for us — you can load half a tonne on your truck and go to the market Serhii and his family try to cooperate more with their regular customers as it is easier to come to an agreement with them: — It is easier to work with people whom you have known for a while because we can make compromises and then we see whether it’s suitable for us at that moment If you feel that you are not ready to get along with people and customers The Village of Velyki Kopani is situated not far from the National Park of Oleshky Sands which is one of the largest sand expanses in Europe this region is characterized by chestnut soils combined with slates Black soil or loam stays wet for like a week after the rain Filtration is really good and everything stays irrigated but in the recent years he has been mostly focused on growing cabbage He does not feel like experimenting with exotic plants We tried different things but cabbage turns out the best I was once offered to grow some products uncommon for this region but there has to be a stable outlet for them I want to grow vegetables that are easy to wholesale Serhii says that growing vegetables for sale is like playing the lottery you need to sell them as quick as possible Supply and demand are never stable at the market — It takes a while to transport the vegetables and then you need to sell them quickly If there are two cabbages and one of them is bad for sure the customer will pick the good one Retailers aren’t really bothered by keeping the products it’s all the responsibility of the producers There is an abundance of everything on the market today and there are no seasonal fluctuations It happened once that they couldn’t sell the cabbage they brought so they gave it away to the local military base: I told my son to take it to the military base for the soldiers to eat it Sometimes it happens that Serhii has to go to the market several times in one day but there are also days when he doesn’t go there at all The man also recalls that the market has been operating the way it is now for about 20 years Before that it used to be a place for pop-up retail — The market is not providing for people in the village they have to make an effort to earn their living Sometimes you have nothing to take to the market The only way out here is to plough and cultivate the soil and start everything again the rest of the family were farmers as well the man doesn’t feel like changing his occupation: — I believe that one has to make the key accomplishments by the age of 40 and then at the age of 50 you just have to maintain everything you’ve accomplished I am in my element and I feel comfortable doing this after you have been doing something for 20 years you already know what’s what and you know everything in this sphere it’s like a constant searching for a balance Serhii used to work as a locksmith at a plant for a while but later on he decided to invest in his own business — I used to think that all I need to do is to save for retirement At first we worked on a smaller piece of land and we earned little money out of it we could not allow ourselves to slow down or stop Serhii underlines the importance of financial gain which is the most pleasant part of his job He is convinced that if the farmer is duly rewarded for what he does then the work itself brings joy — It is not that money is the most important thing in life but without it you will hardly have a decent life My business requires investments and I never know how much I will earn in the end When I started constructing my first greenhouses It was scary to start a year having nothing It is always hard to start anything from scratch Serhii is a father of two: his daughter is getting a degree in medicine They are not the only family in this region living this way: it is a lifestyle of people in the southern regions of Ukraine Industry is not developed here which means people don’t have many options From time to time Serhii considers leasing his greenhouses and then shipping the harvested crops to the lessee It is a common practice in Spain where you can plant your own orange tree on a rented land and have it taken care of: — Oranges are then picked and shipped to the owner I thought it might be a good example to follow — leasing a part of my greenhouse Then I get paid for the lease and for taking care of whatever was planted and whenever the lessee needs fresh products I just send them He says that just like you can’t choose your homeland Involved in the preparation of the material 12 volunteers Project support: Fundacja Euromaidan-Warszawa Use of materials is only permitted upon providing the source: Ukrainer.net Дизайн — Артем Зубкевич Розробка — Deluxcode Against the backdrop of claims about “infrastructure development,” Russia is in fact forming a logistical framework in the occupied territories of southern Ukraine This was reported by the head of the Center for the Study of Occupation This refers to the construction of railway branches and creation of logistical hubs that have a dual — military and economic — purpose the plans of the occupation administration include the laying of railway lines to the port city of Skadovsk and the reconstruction of the tracks to Henichesk Both settlements have access to the sea and thus can be used for the transshipment of stolen cargo The creation of industrial parks and transport-logistics centers is planned in these cities Another key hub is the village of Velyki Kopani where a logistics center is planned on the railway line leading to the occupied Crimea This will allow the Russian Federation to efficiently export agricultural products and free up highways for use by military equipment The Russian forces are paying special attention to river infrastructure the construction of a river port and a logistics center with rail connection is planned the Rusian forces are creating an alternative transport artery for cargo transportation along the Dnipro River which complicates the potential de-occupation of the region such infrastructure will allow Russia to quickly redirect resource flows depending on the situation at the front as well as strengthen its military presence particularly on the left bank of the Dnipro The development of multimodal hubs creates conditions for the mass export of stolen Ukrainian grain through Crimea including to the shadow international market This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could 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