U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has praised Ukraine's' contribution to peacekeeping operations in Ivory Coast.
"We had to make a stand to protect the civilians, as mandated by the Security Council. And we did. But we might not have prevailed without the contribution of one country: Ukraine, which lent us three combat military helicopters at the critical moment," the U.N. secretary general said in his address at the conference in Jakarta on March 21, according to the website of the U.N.
According to the secretary general, with the Ukrainian helicopters, and the support of the French government, and the French forces deployed in Ivory Coast, they were able to neutralize the heavy weaponry systems which were attacking the United Nations peacekeepers and also killing many civilians.
In late 2011, 38 Ukrainian peacekeepers of from the 56th helicopter detachment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Liberia took part in the U.N. mission during the presidential elections in Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast was the scene of an armed standoff between the supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down after being defeated at the presidential election, and the supporters of Alassane Ouattara, who was recognized by the United Nations as the country’s new head of state.
