F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots faces delays and uncertainty
KYIV — A first group of six Ukrainian pilots is not expected to complete training on the U.S.-made F-16 before next summer, senior Ukrainian government and military officials said, following a series of delays by Western partners in implementing an instruction program for the sophisticated fighter jet.
The timeline reflects the disconnect between Ukraine’s supporters, who envision F-16s as a key tool in the country’s long-term defense, and Kyiv, which has desperately requested that the jets reach the battle space as soon as possible, viewing them as critical for the current fight against occupying Russian forces.
President Biden, after denying Ukrainian appeals for the F-16 for more than a year, reversed course in May and said he backed the idea of training Ukrainian pilots on the jets, and supported the transfer of the planes by other countries. Denmark and the Netherlands volunteered to lead a training effort.
Read the full story here.
KYIV — A first group of six Ukrainian pilots is not expected to complete training on the U.S.-made F-16 before next summer, senior Ukrainian government and military officials said, following a series of delays by Western partners in implementing an instruction program for the sophisticated fighter jet.
The timeline reflects the disconnect between Ukraine’s supporters, who envision F-16s as a key tool in the country’s long-term defense, and Kyiv, which has desperately requested that the jets reach the battle space as soon as possible, viewing them as critical for the current fight against occupying Russian forces.
President Biden, after denying Ukrainian appeals for the F-16 for more than a year, reversed course in May and said he backed the idea of training Ukrainian pilots on the jets, and supported the transfer of the planes by other countries. Denmark and the Netherlands volunteered to lead a training effort.
Read the full story here.
Ukraine’s elite forces rely on technology to strike behind enemy lines
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — Some of Ukraine’s most elite special forces are now operating slightly back from the front line — with virtual-reality glasses that give a drone’s-eye view.
Last year, there were opportunities to creep into Russian-occupied territory at night to take out enemy targets. Now, with vast minefields and other fortified Russian defenses stalling Ukraine’s sweeping counteroffensive, an uncrewed aerial vehicle armed with explosives does that during daylight instead.
A three-man team last month manually directed a drone to hit a cluster of antennas affixed to a tower in Polohy, a town occupied by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. The Russians were using the electronic warfare system to spoil the work of Ukraine’s satellite-guided rockets.
Read the full story here.
ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — Some of Ukraine’s most elite special forces are now operating slightly back from the front line — with virtual-reality glasses that give a drone’s-eye view.
Last year, there were opportunities to creep into Russian-occupied territory at night to take out enemy targets. Now, with vast minefields and other fortified Russian defenses stalling Ukraine’s sweeping counteroffensive, an uncrewed aerial vehicle armed with explosives does that during daylight instead.
A three-man team last month manually directed a drone to hit a cluster of antennas affixed to a tower in Polohy, a town occupied by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. The Russians were using the electronic warfare system to spoil the work of Ukraine’s satellite-guided rockets.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russian air defenses shot down at least two missiles fired at the Crimean Bridge and thwarted an attempted drone attack in the same region overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday.
- The Russian-appointed head of Crimea said there was no major damage and no casualties in the bridge incident. He said that three missiles were thwarted, although Russia’s Defense Ministry reported downing two.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses shot down 14 drones over Crimea overnight and that electronic warfare systems blocked the rest.
- Ukraine has started registering vessels to pass through temporary corridors in the Black Sea, Interfax Ukraine reported Saturday, citing Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.
More live updates here.
- Russian air defenses shot down at least two missiles fired at the Crimean Bridge and thwarted an attempted drone attack in the same region overnight, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday.
- The Russian-appointed head of Crimea said there was no major damage and no casualties in the bridge incident. He said that three missiles were thwarted, although Russia’s Defense Ministry reported downing two.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses shot down 14 drones over Crimea overnight and that electronic warfare systems blocked the rest.
- Ukraine has started registering vessels to pass through temporary corridors in the Black Sea, Interfax Ukraine reported Saturday, citing Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.
More live updates here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia’s account Saturday that it had intercepted 20 drones over the Crimean Peninsula marked the third straight day that officials had reported thwarting such an attack. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the assault.
- Ukraine has made “tactically significant advances” along the border between the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, according to an analysis Saturday by the Institute for the Study of War.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired all heads of regional military recruitment centers in a sweeping move he described as a crackdown on corruption.
- Ukraine has started registering vessels to pass through temporary corridors in the Black Sea, Interfax Ukraine reported on Saturday, citing Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.
More live updates here.
- Russia’s account Saturday that it had intercepted 20 drones over the Crimean Peninsula marked the third straight day that officials had reported thwarting such an attack. Moscow blamed Kyiv for the assault.
- Ukraine has made “tactically significant advances” along the border between the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, according to an analysis Saturday by the Institute for the Study of War.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired all heads of regional military recruitment centers in a sweeping move he described as a crackdown on corruption.
- Ukraine has started registering vessels to pass through temporary corridors in the Black Sea, Interfax Ukraine reported on Saturday, citing Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.
More live updates here.
U.S. imposes sanctions on prominent Russian financiers with ties to West
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, two Russian billionaires behind Alfa Group, a prominent financial services firm — a sign that the Biden White House is seeking to increase pressure on Russian elites who have carved out international profiles while maintaining business operations in Russia.
“Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement announcing the new punitive measures. “Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
Read the full story here.
The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven, two Russian billionaires behind Alfa Group, a prominent financial services firm — a sign that the Biden White House is seeking to increase pressure on Russian elites who have carved out international profiles while maintaining business operations in Russia.
“Wealthy Russian elites should disabuse themselves of the notion that they can operate business as usual while the Kremlin wages war against the Ukrainian people,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement announcing the new punitive measures. “Our international coalition will continue to hold accountable those enabling the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
Read the full story here.
In war against its Soviet past, Ukraine refaces towering Kyiv monument
A Kyiv monument traded a 42-year-old Soviet coat of arms for a modern trident Sunday, a swap that exemplifies the war-torn country’s fight against the 21st-century Russian army and the vestiges of Ukraine’s Soviet past.
The Motherland Monument, a 335-foot statue of a woman holding a sword and shield, has towered over Kyiv since 1981 as a symbol of the U.S.S.R.’s triumphs during World War II. Workers dismantled the part of the shield featuring the Soviet hammer-and-sickle and wheat beginning in late July; on Sunday they replaced it with the Ukrainian emblem.
Read the full story here.
A Kyiv monument traded a 42-year-old Soviet coat of arms for a modern trident Sunday, a swap that exemplifies the war-torn country’s fight against the 21st-century Russian army and the vestiges of Ukraine’s Soviet past.
The Motherland Monument, a 335-foot statue of a woman holding a sword and shield, has towered over Kyiv since 1981 as a symbol of the U.S.S.R.’s triumphs during World War II. Workers dismantled the part of the shield featuring the Soviet hammer-and-sickle and wheat beginning in late July; on Sunday they replaced it with the Ukrainian emblem.
Read the full story here.
Tensions between Ukraine and Poland over grain hint at exhaustion from war
KYIV, Ukraine — Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Poland has been among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, providing military and economic aid, taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees, championing Kyiv’s position in international forums and transforming its territory into the main conduit for Western arms shipments.
But even among the closest of friends, serious quarrels can arise.
Last week, Polish and Ukrainian officials clashed openly, after Marcin Przydacz, a foreign policy adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, said that Ukraine should “start appreciating the role that Poland has played for Ukraine in recent months and years.”
Under a deal brokered by the European Union, Poland and four other neighboring countries are allowed to ban Ukrainian grain imports to protect their domestic farmers, but allow the grain to cross their territory into other countries.
Read the full story here.
KYIV, Ukraine — Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Poland has been among Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, providing military and economic aid, taking in millions of Ukrainian refugees, championing Kyiv’s position in international forums and transforming its territory into the main conduit for Western arms shipments.
But even among the closest of friends, serious quarrels can arise.
Last week, Polish and Ukrainian officials clashed openly, after Marcin Przydacz, a foreign policy adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda, said that Ukraine should “start appreciating the role that Poland has played for Ukraine in recent months and years.”
Under a deal brokered by the European Union, Poland and four other neighboring countries are allowed to ban Ukrainian grain imports to protect their domestic farmers, but allow the grain to cross their territory into other countries.
Read the full story here.
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Shots from a Russian warship at a Ukraine-bound cargo vessel in the Black Sea on Sunday drew condemnation from Ukrainian officials, with one calling it a “clear violation of international law.”
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov used automatic weapons to fire “warning” shots on a Palau-flagged bulk carrier after its captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. It was the first such incident since Russia withdrew from a U.N.-brokered grain deal last month.
- Ukrainian forces reported drone and missile attacks in the Odessa region overnight. Three people were injured by debris from the rockets being shot down, according to the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine.
More live updates here.
- Shots from a Russian warship at a Ukraine-bound cargo vessel in the Black Sea on Sunday drew condemnation from Ukrainian officials, with one calling it a “clear violation of international law.”
- Russia’s Defense Ministry said the Russian patrol ship Vasily Bykov used automatic weapons to fire “warning” shots on a Palau-flagged bulk carrier after its captain failed to respond to a request to halt for an inspection. It was the first such incident since Russia withdrew from a U.N.-brokered grain deal last month.
- Ukrainian forces reported drone and missile attacks in the Odessa region overnight. Three people were injured by debris from the rockets being shot down, according to the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine.
More live updates here.
Songs of war: The Ukrainian musicians merging art and propaganda
Music has always been an important part of Maria Kvitka’s life. Before the war, she worked as a costume designer in Ukraine’s film industry, traveling frequently across the country to gather inspiration for her designs. Along the way, she collected traditional songs and sounds from Ukraine’s disparate regions.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country last year, Kvitka, in shock and out of a job, sought refuge in the folk songs she had compiled.
“It was like therapy for me,” said Kvitka, 30. “Listening to them, you got the sense that Ukrainians were doing exactly the same thing for hundreds of years — they were always under attack from Russia. And you realize that if they can survive it, we can too.”
Read the full story here.
Music has always been an important part of Maria Kvitka’s life. Before the war, she worked as a costume designer in Ukraine’s film industry, traveling frequently across the country to gather inspiration for her designs. Along the way, she collected traditional songs and sounds from Ukraine’s disparate regions.
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of the country last year, Kvitka, in shock and out of a job, sought refuge in the folk songs she had compiled.
“It was like therapy for me,” said Kvitka, 30. “Listening to them, you got the sense that Ukrainians were doing exactly the same thing for hundreds of years — they were always under attack from Russia. And you realize that if they can survive it, we can too.”
Read the full story here.
Wagner’s prisoner of war: A Ukrainian soldier’s 46-day nightmare
Wagner mercenaries were within shouting distance when the ambush began.
From the high ground, they raked a column of Ukrainian military armor below. An antitank rocket punched through Ilia Mykhalchuk’s vehicle, and the 36-year-old recalled quickly taking stock of his injuries.
They were ghastly.
Right arm: ribbons of shredded flesh. His left: pocked with shrapnel.
Mykhalchuk stumbled from the burning wreckage, fell to the frozen ground and, using his fractured teeth for leverage, tightened a tourniquet onto each of his mangled arms. Moments later, his attackers drew near, shooting him through the legs. They moved closer. Death, Mykhalchuk believed, was imminent.
“I was sure,” he recently recalled, “they wouldn’t capture me.”
Yet that is exactly what happened.
Read the full story here.
Wagner mercenaries were within shouting distance when the ambush began.
From the high ground, they raked a column of Ukrainian military armor below. An antitank rocket punched through Ilia Mykhalchuk’s vehicle, and the 36-year-old recalled quickly taking stock of his injuries.
They were ghastly.
Right arm: ribbons of shredded flesh. His left: pocked with shrapnel.
Mykhalchuk stumbled from the burning wreckage, fell to the frozen ground and, using his fractured teeth for leverage, tightened a tourniquet onto each of his mangled arms. Moments later, his attackers drew near, shooting him through the legs. They moved closer. Death, Mykhalchuk believed, was imminent.
“I was sure,” he recently recalled, “they wouldn’t capture me.”
Yet that is exactly what happened.
Read the full story here.