"Ukraine has shown the whole world that Russia is actually weak and cannot defend itself internally," Khrapchynskyi said.
Cologne was subjected to particularly heavy bombing during WW2 and unexploded ordnance can still pose a danger.Germany's bomb disposal service was only able to begin the operation after all residents in the densely populated area were evacuated.
"If you refuse, we will escort you from your home - if necessary by force - along with the police," the authorities said.Residents were told if they refused to leave their homes after the evacuation began they could face expensive fines.Some intensive care patients were helped out in ambulances from the Eduardus Hospital.
Finding bombs from WW2 is not unusual in German cities such as Cologne and Berlin, but these bombs were particularly large.The evacuation in the Old Town and Deutz neighbourhoods began with officials going door to door to tell people they must leave their homes.
Many of the city's usually bustling streets were eerily deserted as shops, restaurants and businesses were told to stop operating during the day.
Cultural institutions including the Philharmonic Hall and many museums were also affected, as well as government buildings, 58 hotels, and nine schools.His former colleague Kathryn Evans headed up the space effort, the work around hypersonic flight for the Ministry of Defence and opportunities to apply the technology in any other commercial areas.
When did she know the game was up? "It's tricky to say when I knew it was going wrong, I was very hopeful to the end. While there was a lot of uncertainty there was a strong pipeline of opportunities."She remembers the moment the axe fell and she joined 200 colleagues in the HQ's auditorium.
"It was the 31st of October, a Thursday, I knew it was bad news but when you're made redundant with immediate effect there's no time to think about it. We'd all been fighting right to the end so then my adrenalin crashed."And those final hours were recorded. One of her colleagues brought in a Polaroid camera. Portrait photos were taken and stuck on a board with message expressing what Reaction Engines meant to individuals.