Recently, the flight was under threat of disruption: misfortune befell Ukrainian sky enthusiasts - as a result of a strong fire at a neighboring warehouse of combustible materials, virtually the entire aerostatic fleet of Ukraine burned down. The flames devoured 12 hot air balloons, all gas and pneumatic equipment perished, and the office with all scientific and practical documents burned down. The official figure of material losses has not yet been established. But given the fact that each balloon costs on average $30,000, one can imagine how much property perished in the fire.
At a press conference dedicated to the unique Russian-Ukrainian flight, President of the Ukrainian Aeronautics Federation Alexander Nikolaev assured journalists that, despite everything, the flight will take place. By the way, no one in the world has yet carried out such an action. The best ballooning teams of Russia and Ukraine will come together to conduct a hot air balloon flight along the route Moscow - Voronezh - Rostov Veliky - Donetsk - Zaporozhye - Kharkov - Kiev. Ten crews will take part in the action - five from each country. Participants of the competition must start from cities along the indicated route and within two hours carry out a flight for the maximum distance. In each city, only two attempts can be made, one of which is counted as a result. Balloonists will stay in regional centers for two days, and another day is given for moving to the next city. The winner will be the crew that covers the maximum distance. A separate action in the program will be "Friendship without Borders" - a flight across the state border. It is planned that this "ritual" will be carried out in the presence of the governors of the Rostov and Donetsk regions and representatives of the Russian and Ukrainian Aeronautics Federations.
The ceremonial start of the flight will take place in Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill, where ten crews and the judging panel will gather. And on September 7 in Kiev, on Independence Square, the Cup will be awarded to the winner of the flight and awards to the participating crews in the presence of official representatives of the Ukrainian and Russian Aeronautics Federations and the city mayor's office.
By the way, Ukraine in this sport is by no means lagging behind the world leaders. Three of our guys are among the top hundred balloonists in the world. The importance of this result is evidenced by at least the fact that there are five thousand balloonists in Germany alone. Traditional competitions are also held in Ukraine - the International Festival "Air Brotherhood". So this year the championship took place in three stages: the first - the open championship of Ukraine in ballooning - was held in Feodosia. The second was the competition for the Podillya Cup in Kamyanets-Podilskyi, and the third - for the Kyiv Cup.