The Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science has prepared a program of research in Antarctica until 2030, according to which the country is ready to fight for primacy in the development of the southernmost continent, representatives of the department said on the eve.
“We like to say that Ukraine should be in the top ten or top twenty of the leading powers of the world. And there are areas where we already have in these two dozen. In particular, Antarctica ”, - said at the press conference in Kiev on January 17, the Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Maxim Striha.
According to him, the implementation of a new, “kindly bold” program will require additional resources, but Kiev will definitely find them.
“After all, one way or another, the status of Antarctica can change, and the right to the economic development of the riches of this yet unoccupied continent will be received by those who are currently engaged in activities there,” the Ukrainian official said.
In turn, the Acting Director of the National Antarctic Research Center Evgeny Dikiy emphasized that participation in the study of Antarctica for Ukraine is “a pass to the future world.
“Soon, humanity will be divided into countries that equip“ caravels ”to Mars, the Moon and the like, and countries that are not involved in this, where, like in Somalia, they will grip the garden. Currently, we are at a crossroads, in what part Ukraine will be, ”Wild said. - Our station "Akademik Vernadsky" is one of those leads, with the help of which we hold in the "Ilona Mask world", from where the "caravels" will go beyond the limits of our planet. "
British station
Ukrainians got their own polar station "Akademik Vernadsky" in 1996. For a nominal fee of £ 1, the United Kingdom gave Ukraine the unused Faraday station on Galindez Island as part of the Argentine Islands. In exchange for this gift, the Ukrainian side pledged to provide London with all scientific information.
“In fact, the British left the island because of the inconvenient location of the station: it is inconvenient to moor the vessels, it is impossible to deploy an airfield,” said Ukrainian geopolitics doctor of geography Vladimir Dergachev in an interview with RT.
Built in the 1930s, the station does not have its own aerodrome and communication with it is possible only in a short period of Antarctic navigation. A serious problem in the study of the Antarctic for Ukraine is the absence of its own ice-class expeditionary vessel. Two such ships, Horizon and Ernst Krenkel, which Ukraine received as a legacy from the collapse of the USSR, were written off in 2002. Since then, Ukrainian polar explorers have chartered ships in the countries of South America, where they travel by plane.
- At the station "Academician Vernadsky"
- © uac.gov.ua
However, for a long time, the work of Ukrainian polar explorers made it difficult not only for logistics, but also for financing. So, in December 2014, due to the lack of funds, the return of the expedition members who had completed the work almost collapsed. In addition, every year after the “Maidan”, representatives of the National Antarctic Research Center declare the threat of suspension of the station due to lack of funds.
On January 18, 2019, at 5 am, the 24th seasonal group of Ukrainian polar explorers headed for Antarctica. According to the Ukrainian media, this is the largest expedition in 18 years.
For the first time, a female biologist, Maria Pavlovskaya, joined it. The scientific program of Ukrainian polar explorers during the short Antarctic summer will include both biological research and research in the field of geology and climate change. Almost half of the 26 Ukrainian specialists who went to the Antarctic are geologists.
This year the first modernization of the “Academician Vernadsky” in decades is also planned. For the first time since the 1970s, the station should change the roof, repair the heating system, install a new water desalination plant. It is planned to re-equip the medical room and the biological laboratory. All this has not been repaired or updated since the British transferred the station to Ukraine. The cost of all work will be 34.6 million hryvnia (about $ 1 million).
According to the leaders of the Ukrainian Antarctic project, the acquisition of a coffee machine should be an important “bonus”.
Political factor
As noted in an interview with RT professor of Moscow State University. Mv Lomonosov Andrei Manoylo, it is likely that the Ukrainian government has paid attention to research in the Antarctic in connection with the election campaign that has begun. According to the expert, the government seeks to demonstrate any success of the current president, Petro Poroshenko. A new seasonal expedition is due to finish its work on March 31 - elections for the President of Ukraine are scheduled for this day.
“This is the case when the misfortune helped. If Ukraine had not gone into the dressing and there would have been no these presidential elections, then there would have been no money for the Antarctic expedition at all. But no state can consider itself to be held without a developed science, ”stressed Manoilo.
According to experts, official Kiev has repeatedly used the status of a country that owns a polar station in Antarctica for internal public relations.
So, Yevgeniy Dikiy (former commander of the company of the nationalist battalion "Aydar"), who headed the Ukrainian Antarctic research in 2018, in May last year presented a special embroidery with pictures of penguins and whales to the public. According to him, in 2019 this item of clothing will be awarded to all Ukrainian polar explorers.
- Antarctic embroidery
- © uac.gov.ua
And in December 2018, Ukrainian polar explorers deployed in Antarctica the flag of the 72nd Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the “Black Cossacks” - a unit that participated in hostilities in the east of the country.
In addition, on December 31, the Ukrainian media spread the New Year greetings to the participants of the Antarctic expedition, in which they wished compatriots that in 2019 "every Ukrainian family could visit the Ukrainian Crimea and remember the events in Donbass as a bad dream."
“Politicians - and first of all President Poroshenko - are trying to integrate research into the current political environment,” says Andrey Manoilo. “They strive to demonstrate that Ukraine is a world power, which, of course, does not fly into space, but sends its expeditions to the Antarctic, as the leading countries of the world.”
Napoleonic plans
As noted on January 17th and. about. Chairman of the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine Yevgeniy Dikiy, in addition to research, Kiev intends to further develop Antarctic tourism in the future.
“This year, the first Ukrainian company began tourism activities there, cooperating with our center. And this is a market that is growing at a crazy pace, by 10–20% annually, ”the official said.
- Evgeniy Wild
- © uac.gov.ua
In addition, according to him, Ukraine hopes that after 2048 the ban on mining in Antarctica will be lifted and Ukrainians will be able to begin development.
“Until 2048, about 30 years are left — this is not much, and then the ban on mining of Antarctic minerals will most likely be lifted, and in this process will be those countries that keep scientific stations there and carry out scientific activities. And therefore, it is not by chance that a geological group makes up half of our expedition, ”Wild said.
The international Antarctic Treaty, concluded in Washington in 1959 and entered into force in 1961, of which Ukraine has been a member since 1992, prohibits the use of spaces to the south of the 60th degree of southern latitude for military purposes, including for testing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. The document also states that the sovereignty of any state does not extend to Antarctica. In addition, in 1991, the parties agreed to abandon the development of mineral resources on the continent until 2048 - according to the US Geological Survey, oil and natural gas reserves may be concentrated in Antarctica. Also, in different years, reserves of various metals, including rare earth, gold, platinum, diamonds, and hard coal were identified on the mainland.
At the same time, as experts note, it is impossible to seriously consider the statements of Ukrainian officials about the development of the Antarctic.
“With the economic situation that is observed in the country, it is impossible to speak seriously about the fact that Ukraine can lay claim to mining in Antarctica,” said Vladimir Dergachev. “Ukraine has never been a part of the main contenders for the development of Antarctic resources,” he said.
According to the expert, more realistic candidates for this role are Argentina and Chile, who included parts of the Antarctic in their official administrative-territorial division, as well as the United Kingdom, which has the infrastructure to develop the southern continent on the Falkland Islands.
According to Andrei Manoylo, taking into account the fact that the United Kingdom in 2007 declared claims for 1 million square meters. km in Antarctica, including a significant part of the continental shelf potentially rich in hydrocarbons, and the United States has never concealed that they are claiming to exploit the continent’s riches in the future, statements by Ukrainian officials were hardly agreed with colleagues abroad.
“Judging by the nature of Kiev’s statements, this is an obvious initiative,” said Manoilo. “Ukrainians may be trying to adapt to the wishes of the West, primarily the United States, but they do it too clumsily.”