Closing summary
This blog is now closing. Below is a roundup of today’s stories:
US officials have said the total number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war in Ukraine began last February is nearing 500,000, according to a New York Times report. The officials told the Times that Russia’s military casualties were approaching 300,000. The number included as many as 120,000 deaths and between 170,000 and 180,000 injured troops. The officials said figures on the Ukrainian side were close to 70,000 killed and between 100,000 and 120,000 wounded.
Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea fleet. Russia’s defence ministry said its air force had downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital at about 4am (1am GMT) on Friday. Footage showed damage to an expo centre on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment of the Moskva River, 100 metres (328 ft) from Moscow city. Meanwhile, according to the ministry, Russian navy patrol ships in the Black Sea shot down a drone late on Thursday night about 237km (147 miles) south-west of Sevastopol, the base of its fleet on the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.
The US said Ukrainian pilot training on F-16s would be followed by a transfer of jets to the country. Speaking at a press conference, Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said: “What we did this week is formalised through a letter from Secretary Blinken to his counterparts in Europe, that upon the completion of that training, the United States would be prepared in consultation with Congress to approve third-party transfer of F-16 aircraft to Ukraine.”
A coalition of 11 countries is due to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 jets this month in Denmark. The training was agreed a day after Ukraine said that, based on current timelines, it would not be able to operate the jets by autumn or winter.
Russia has banned entry to 54 British nationals, including the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Karim Khan, and the defence minister Annabel Goldie, in response to UK sanctions against its citizens and enterprises. A number of correspondents from the BBC, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph were also on the travel ban list.
A large fire was burning on Friday at the Russian Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal in Novorossiysk, one of the largest Black Sea ports which is located about 107 miles (172km) from Crimea. It was unclear whether the fire was caused by a Ukrainian drone strike.
The thermal power plant in the Donetsk oblast was operating today at a reduced capacity because of shelling that damaged the electricity line, said Ukraine’s energy ministry. More than 14,000 people remained without electricity in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. In the Kherson oblast, where Russians destroyed the Kahovska dam two months ago, about 11,000 people remained without power.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces estimated that Russian troops lost 460 personnel on Thursday, bringing their total estimate of Russian personnel killed since the invasion to 256,510.
One civilian was injured and private houses, farm buildings and gas pipelines were damaged in the Russian shelling of the Kherson oblast in the early hours of Friday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.
Russian Telegram channels reported that a Ukrainian flag was hoisted in front of the Federal Security Service building in Nizhny Nogorod, a city located about 264 miles (425km) east of Moscow. The flag was quickly removed.
Sweden has approved a €270m (£230m) security assistance package for Ukraine, said Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s minister of defence.
Updated
Russia bans 54 British nationals from entering country
Russia has banned entry to 54 British nationals, including the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court, Karim Khan, and the defence minister Annabel Goldie, in response to UK sanctions against its citizens and enterprises, Reuters reports, citing the Russian foreign ministry.
The ICC issued arrest warrants in March for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, accusing him of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine, charges Moscow denies.
A number of correspondents from the BBC, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph were also on the travel ban list.
The ministry said it would continue expanding the list in retaliation for sanctions.
Updated
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said he spoke with the foreign minister from the Republic of Guinea, Morissanda Kouyaté, on Friday about ways to strengthen “cooperation in trade, education, and international organisations” between the two countries.
In the first-ever call between foreign ministers of Ukraine and the Republic of Guinea, Dr. @Morissanda Kouyaté and I discussed ways to strengthen 🇺🇦🇬🇳 cooperation in trade, education, and international organizations.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 18, 2023
Updated
Almost 500,000 troops killed or injured since the war began, US officials say
The total number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war in Ukraine began last February is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reports, citing US officials.
The officials told the Times that Russia’s military casualties are approaching 300,000. The number includes as many as 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injured troops. The officials said figures on the Ukrainian side were at close to 70,000 killed and 100,000 to 120,000 wounded.
Estimates put the number of Ukrainian troops at about 500,000, including active-duty, reserve and paramilitary troops. Russia has almost three times that figure, with 1,330,000 active duty, reserve and paramilitary troops.
Updated
Canada is imposing sanctions on 15 Russian individuals and three entities in what Ottawa said was a response to rising levels of human rights violations and violence faced by political opponents and critics in Russia, Reuters reports, citing the foreign ministry.
The sanctioned individuals and entities are senior officials of the Russian government, judiciary and investigative committee, as well as federally funded courts, the ministry said in a statement.
A senior Moldovan official has called Russia’s decision to deny entry of officials from the country regrettable, Reuters reports.
“This is not the first time the Russian authorities have resorted to such measures,” said Igor Zakharov, a communications adviser to Moldova’s foreign minister.
“The Republic of Moldova is determined to resist destabilising actions,” he added.
Russia banned entry to several Moldovan officials after Moldova’s “unfriendly” decision to expel 22 Russian diplomats, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Updated
Report: Russia recruited operatives online to target weapons crossing Poland
The Washington Post is reporting that Polish authorities believe that Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, was recruiting people in online job ads to disrupt shipments of weapons to Ukraine that were passing through the country.
From the report:
The cryptic job listings began appearing online early this year.
The tasks were menial — posting fliers or hanging signs in public spaces — and the pay meager. But for a handful of refugees from eastern Ukraine, the promise of quick cash was too good to pass up.
Respondents soon realized there was a catch: The jobs involved distributing pro-Russian propaganda on behalf of an anonymous employer. For those willing to complete the assignments anyway, the work then took a more ominous turn.
Within weeks, recruits were tasked with scouting Polish seaports, placing cameras along railways and hiding tracking devices in military cargo, according to Polish investigators. Then, in March, came startling new orders to derail trains carrying weapons to Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Though the threat was eliminated, an investigator told the Washington Post that a “broader threat remained. Russia’s spy services remained active in Poland, he said, and “will try to eliminate the mistakes they made”.
Updated
Here are some of the latest images of Ukraine coming in from the agencies:
Updated
US to do 'everything' possible to support Ukraine
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, affirmed at a press conference today the US’s position on continuing to support Ukraine.
“We’re doing everything we can to support Ukraine, and its counteroffensive,” he said. “We’re not going to handicap the outcome. We’re not going to predict what’s going to happen because this war has been inherently unpredictable. That’s all I can say today other than I believe and have confidence in the capacity, and especially the bravery, of Ukrainian fighters to continue to make progress on the battlefield.”
US says F-16s will be sent to Ukraine after pilot training
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said on Friday that Ukrainian pilot training on F-16s will be followed by a transfer of jets to the country.
Speaking a press conference, Sullivan said: “What we did this week is formalised through a letter from Secretary Blinken to his counterparts in Europe, that upon the completion of that training, the United States would be prepared in consultation with Congress to approve third party transfer of F 16 aircraft to Ukraine.”
Updated
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said he spoke with his Senegalese counterpart Aïssata Tall Sall on Friday about “enhancing the bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Senegal.”
It was good to talk today with my Senegalese counterpart and friend @ATallSall about enhancing the bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Senegal.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 18, 2023
Reuters has more detail on the news that Russia has banned a number of Moldovan officials from entering the country.
Russia has banned entry to several Moldovan officials after Moldova’s “unfriendly” decision to expel 22 Russian diplomats, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Moldova’s pro-European president, Maia Sandu, has denounced Russia’s invasion and accused Moscow of trying to destabilise her own country.
Twenty-two Russian diplomats flew out of the Moldovan capital, Chișinău, on 14 August, leaving behind a skeleton staff.
“This unfriendly step leads to the further destruction of Russian-Moldovan relations, which are already in a deep crisis due to the actions of the Moldovan side,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement after summoning Chișinău’s ambassador to Moscow to express its disapproval.
The envoy was informed that “as an asymmetric response, entry into the Russian Federation was closed to a number of officials of the Republic of Moldova”, the ministry said.
It did not identify the Moldovan officials affected by the ban or say how many they were.
Updated
Ukraine’s state emergency services has released images from Kherson after they claim an attack on Friday led to a fire in a residential building in the region.
Ворог продовжує обстрілювати Херсонщину
— DSNS.GOV.UA (@SESU_UA) August 18, 2023
Зранку, 18 серпня, в одному з населених пунктів Білозерської громади виникла пожежа внаслідок атаки. Цього разу боєприпаси влучили у житловий будинок. Рятувальники одразу прибули на місце пожежі та швидко її ліквідували.
До гасіння… pic.twitter.com/KchaO2X9a6
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had banned entry to several unnamed Moldovan officials on Friday, Reuters reports, citing the Russian state news agency RIA.
Relations between Russia and Moldova, which has a pro-European government, have worsened sharply since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moldova, a tiny ex-Soviet republic, shares a border with Ukraine and also with the Nato member Romania.
Updated
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said he spoke with Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, to “express [his] gratitude for Bahrain’s participation in the Peace Formula talks in Jeddah.”
On Twitter, which is now known as X, he added: “We discussed the next steps for implementing the Formula and agreed on the next bilateral contacts.”
I spoke with Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Alzayani, to express my gratitude for Bahrain's participation in the Peace Formula talks in Jeddah. We discussed the next steps for implementing the Formula and agreed on the next bilateral contacts.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 18, 2023
Summary of the day so far
Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet. Russia’s defence ministry said its air force had downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital at about 4am (1am GMT) on Friday. Footage showed damage to an expo centre on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment of the Moskva River, 100 metres (328 ft) from Moscow city. Meanwhile, along the Black Sea, Russian navy patrol ships shot down a drone late Thursday night about 237km (147 miles) south-west of Sevastopol, the base of its Black Sea Fleet on the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.
A coalition of 11 countries is due to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 jets this month in Denmark. The training was agreed a day after Ukraine said that, based on current timelines, it would not be able to operate the jets by autumn or winter.
A large fire is burning at the Russian Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal in Novorossiysk, one of the largest ports on the Black Sea that is located about 107 miles (172km) from Crimea. It is unclear as of now if the fire was caused by a Ukrainian drone strike.
The thermal power plant in the Donetsk oblast was operating today at a reduced capacity due to shelling that damaged the electricity line, said Ukraine’s energy ministry. More than 14,000 consumers remain without electricity in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. In the Kherson oblast, about 11,000 consumers remain without power after Russians destroyed the Kahovska dam two months ago.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces is estimating that Russian troops lost 460 personnel yesterday, bringing Ukraine’s total estimate of Russian personnel killed since the invasion to 256,510.
One civilian was injured and private houses, farm buildings and gas pipelines were damaged in the Russian shelling of the Kherson oblast in the early hours of Friday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.
Russian Telegram channels are reporting that a Ukrainian flag was hoisted in front of the Federal Security Service building in Nizhny Nogorod, a city located about 264 miles (425 km) east of Moscow. The flag was quickly removed.
Sweden has approved a €270m security assistance package for Ukraine, said Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s minister of defence.
Updated
Explosions are being reported in the Zaporizhzhia oblast.
Explosions reported in Zaporizhzhia!
— Iryna Voichuk (@IrynaVoichuk) August 18, 2023
⚡️Explosions are heard in Zaporizhzhia, subscribers report. We are waiting for official information.
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) August 18, 2023
‼️ There are two arrivals in Zaporizhzhia
— Malinda 🇺🇸🇺🇦🇵🇱🇨🇦🇮🇹🇦🇺🇬🇧🇬🇪🇩🇪🇸🇪 (@TreasChest) August 18, 2023
Limited power across several regions after damage to a thermal power plant in Donetsk oblast
The thermal power plant in the Donetsk oblast was operating today at a reduced capacity due to shelling that damaged the electricity line, said Ukraine’s energy ministry.
Russian shelling disconnected 110 kV overhead lines twice, leading to limited electricity production at one of the region’s thermal power plant. Russian activity also forced workers to turn off lower-capacity overhead lines, leaving more than 14,000 consumers remained without electricity.
In the Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts, some consumers also remain without electricity. In the Kherson oblast, about 11,000 consumers remain without power after Russians destroyed the Kahovska dam two months ago.
Workers begin to restore electricity to parts of Kherson oblast
Two months after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovskaya dam, killing power to parts of the Kherson oblast, electricity is now being restored to parts of the region, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
The return of electricity comes ahead of the school year, in which 68,500 children will have to continue their schooling remotely due to constant shelling. “We cannot start the school year offline,” Prokudin said.
The Korabel district was the hardest hit in this outage, but Prokudin said workers have already reconnected the first houses to a power supply.
Russian media reporting huge fire at oil terminal
A large fire is burning at the Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal in Novorossiysk, one of the largest ports on the Black Sea that is located about 107 miles (172 km) from Crimea.
The terminal, which has a capacity of 119,000 cubic metres and a throughput of 5 million tons a year, is Russia’s main oil export hub in the region.
It’s unclear as of now if the fire was caused by a Ukrainian drone strike, of which there have been several on Russian territory in the past day.
Russian state media reporting a huge fire at Novorossiysk’ oil terminal, which is Russia’s main oil export hub in the area as well as the route by which the majority of Kazakh oil hits world markets. Unclear if drone strikes involved https://t.co/BJwwwdv2GB pic.twitter.com/YvTmEQcrMS
— Maximilian Hess (@zakavkaza) August 18, 2023
🔥 NOVOROSSIYSK 🇷🇺
— Jason Jay Smart (@officejjsmart) August 18, 2023
Near the port of Novorossiysk 🇷🇺, the cargo area continues to explode.
She says:
“It’s becoming bigger and bigger. Something just exploded… it’s continuing to explode.”
The port is Russia’s main base on the Black Sea. pic.twitter.com/wncJLeYbQA
Updated
Russian Telegram channels are reporting that a Ukrainian flag was hoisted in front of the Federal Security Service building in Nizhny Nogorod, a city located about 264 miles (425 km) east of Moscow.
The flag was quickly removed.
#Russia Telegram channels report that someone hung the Ukrainian flag in front of the FSB building in Nizhny Novgorod. It was quickly removed. pic.twitter.com/LCZcyfNzY9
— Hanna Liubakova (@HannaLiubakova) August 18, 2023
Ukrainian forces attacked the Belgorod oblast in Russia heavily over the past day, said regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
The Belgorod oblast, which shares the border with the Kharkiv oblast in eastern Ukraine, had 16 artillery shells and 67 mortar shells fired across the region yesterday, Gladkov said.
Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for any of the attacks on Belgorod. The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said the Ukrainian air force yesterday launched seven air strikes on a concentration of troops, weapons and military equipment, as well as two more air strikes on anti-aircraft missile systems.
As well, the Ukrainian missile and artillery troops hit four Russian artillery systems at their firing position, two ammunition depots, and one electronic warfare.
Key event
Sweden has approved a €270m security assistance package for Ukraine, said Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s minister of defence.
Great news from Sweden: @Sverigesriksdag has approved a €270 million security assistance package for Ukraine.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) August 18, 2023
This will help us protect our people and drive the russian occupiers out of our country.
Thank you to @PlJonson and all Swedish people! pic.twitter.com/VHW0bB62Tx
One civilian was injured and private houses, farm buildings and gas pipelines were damaged in the Russian shelling of the Kherson oblast in the early hours of Friday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said.
The villages of Bilozerka and Dniprovske were the main targets of Russian troops.
The National Resistance Centre is reporting that Russia has deported another 450 Ukrainian children.
The centre has been tracking Russian efforts to bring the Ukrainian children of occupied territories to Russia, where they are exposed to propaganda about their home country.
National Resistance Center: Russia deports another 450 Ukrainian children.
— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) August 18, 2023
Absolutely terrible stealing of the future. Children deserve their childhood. Russian war has taken it from them.
Updated
Damage at expo centre in Moscow after Russian forces shoot down Ukrainian drone
Here’s a look at some of the damage of an expo centre near Moscow after Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone.
Expocentre in Moscow after drone attack. Claims suggest lack of antiwar protests because major cities remain untouched. Is that still the case? pic.twitter.com/883co3eb6l
— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) August 18, 2023
TASS also reported that the airspace near the international airport of Vnukovo was briefly closed, with departures and arrivals delayed, citing the aviation service.
The expo centre damaged by the drone is on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment of the Moskva River, 100 metres (328 feet) from Moscow-City, an office block in the capital’s main business district that was struck twice within days by debris from downed drone strikes this month.
Until a series of attacks in recent months, the capital had not been targeted during the conflict in Ukraine, which began more than a year ago.
Last week, Russia destroyed a Ukrainian drone over Moscow’s west, with debris landing in a park on the Karamyshevskaya embankment.
In May drones were shot down near the Kremlin, less than five kilometres from the Expo Centre.
On 30 July, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that “war” was coming to Russia, with the country’s “symbolic centres and military bases” becoming targets.
Updated
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces is estimating that Russian troops lost 460 personnel yesterday.
This brings Ukraine’s total estimate of Russian personnel killed since the invasion to 256,510.
Загальні бойові втрати противника з 24.02.22 по 18.08.23 орієнтовно склали / The total combat losses of the enemy from 24.02.22 to 18.08.23 were approximately pic.twitter.com/W9mfMB0k0g
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) August 18, 2023
Russian forces launched four missile, 53 air strikes and 40 multiple launch rocket system attacks across 136 settlements yesterday, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in its morning briefing,
There were 33 combat engagements, the general staff said.
More now on that F-16 news: A coalition of 11 countries is due to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 jets this month in Denmark. Denmark’s acting defence minister, Troels Poulsen, said in July that it hoped to see “results” from the training in early 2024.
The US approval comes a day after Ukraine said that based on current timelines, it would not be able to operate the jets by autumn or winter.
“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” Ukraine air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday.
“We had big hopes for this plane, that it will become part of air defence, able to protect us from Russia’s missiles and drones terrorism.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said: “Ukrainian pilots will return from the training, and the planes will come back with them.”
Blinken wrote that the approval of the requests would allow Ukraine to take “full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training”.
US confirms ‘full support’ for F-16 transfer
The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, says in a letter seen by the Reuters news agency.
Washington will expedite the approval of transfer requests for F-16s, the letter – sent to Blinken’s counterparts in Denmark and the Netherlands – was reported to say. The US must approve the transfer of the military jets from its allies to Ukraine.
“I am writing to express the United States’ full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors,” Blinken said in the letter.
“It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty.”
The US president, Joe Biden, endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May. In addition to Denmark, a training centre was to be set up in Romania. Russia responded to the endorsement by claiming that providing F-16s to Ukraine posed a “colossal risk” to western nations.
Russian officials claim drones targeting Black Sea Fleet destroyed
Hours before the strike on Moscow, Russia thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet, AFP reports.
Russia’s defence ministry said the drone was destroyed late on Thursday night by navy patrol ships, 237 km (147 miles) southwest of Sevastopol – the base of its Black Sea Fleet on the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Attacks from both sides have escalated in the Black Sea since Russia pulled out of a deal that had allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain through the shipping hub.
On 4 August, Russia said it had repelled Ukraine’s attempted drone attack on its Novorossiysknaval base in the sea, while a Ukrainian security source said the strike on a warship at the base was successful.
The attack came hours after a civilian cargo ship sailing through the Black Sea from Ukraine reached Istanbul in defiance of a Russian blockade.
Moscow announced last month that it would consider any ships nearing Ukraine in the Black Sea as potential military cargo carriers.
Ukrainian drone shot down over Moscow, damaging building
Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet, AFP reports, citing Russian officials.
Russia’s defence ministry said its air force downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital at about 04:00 (0100 GMT) on Friday.
“The UAV, after being exposed to air defence weapons, changed its flight path and fell on a non-residential building in the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment area of Moscow,” the ministry said on Telegram.
Moscow’s mayor said emergency services were on the scene, but that early reports indicated there were no casualties.
“The wreckage of the UAV fell in the area of the Expo Centre, and did not cause significant damage to the building,” Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
State-run news agency TASS reported that one of the walls of the venue’s pavilion had partially collapsed, citing emergency services.
“The area of the collapse is about 30 square meters (323 square feet),” emergency services told TASS.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. This is Helen Sullivan with the latest.
Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet, officials said, the latest in a surge of attacks on the capital and the waterway.
Russia’s defence ministry said its air force downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital at about 04:00am (0100 GMT) on Friday. Hours before, Russia said that it thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet.
More shortly. Elsewhere meanwhile:
The head of Nato has said only Kyiv can decide conditions for peace talks with Russia following a territory row. Jens Stoltenberg’s comments came after his chief of staff suggested Ukraine could give up land as a condition of Nato membership. Stoltenberg said: “It is the Ukrainians, and only the Ukrainians, who can decide when there are conditions in place for negotiations, and who can decide at the negotiating table what is an acceptable solution.”
The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed, a US official has said. Kyiv has actively sought the US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian air superiority. Washington gave Denmark and the Netherlands official assurances that the US would expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots were trained, the official said on Thursday. Denmark’s acting defence minister, Troels Poulsen, said in July that the country hoped to see “results” from the training in early 2024.
On Wednesday, Ukraine had said it would not be able to operate F-16 jets this coming autumn and winter. “It’s already obvious,” air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said on Ukrainian television.
The US has imposed sanctions on four Russians it accused of being involved in the 2020 poisoning of now jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The US Treasury Department said the four were linked to Russia’s federal security service (FSB) and included two it said were among the main reported perpetrators of Navalny’s poisoning.
Russia is making steady progress towards its goal of mass producing Shahed-136 drones that can travel more than 1,000 miles (1,600km) and target Ukrainian cities, the Washington Post has reported, citing documents about the plan. Moscow is working on its own version of the Shahed-136 despite delays and sanctions that impact components needed from other countries, according to the documents.
Russian president Vladimir Putin is not trying to push Belarus into joining the war in Ukraine, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has said. “If you Ukrainians do not cross our border, we will never participate in this war, in this hot war. But we will always help Russia – they are our allies,” he said in an online interview.
The US condemned Russia’s continued attacks on Ukraine’s grain infrastructure and called on Moscow to immediately return to the collapsed grain deal, the state department has said. Vladimir Putin did not care about global food security, state department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said after Ukraine earlier on Wednesday said Russia had attacked its grain storage facilities overnight.
