Zelensky pays tribute to British ex-soldier killed in attack on journalists’ hotel in Ukraine
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Ukraine has lost a Western-donated F-16 fighter jet for the first time, after one of the aircraft crashed during operations to intercept a massive Russian missile and drone attack.
The crash killed one of Ukraine’s most experienced pilots, Colonel Alexei “Moonfish” Mes, who had been one of the faces of a campaign to encourage Western allies to supply Kyiv the jets.
The crash occurred on Monday during a massive Russian air attack, during which four Russian missiles were shot down by F-16s.
Mes had traveled to the US in 2022 to lobby for F-16 support and met with senior American members of Congress.
Earlier, the UK, the European Union and Ukraine ramped up calls for Kyiv to be allowed to strike deeper into mainland Russia, saying that restricting anything short of full capability renders their long-range missiles “useless”.
Speaking in Brussels, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Kyiv’s allies to “lift restrictions”.
“The weaponry that we are providing to Ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainians to be able to target the places where Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, the weaponry is useless,” Mr Borrell said.
Key Points
Show latest update 1724994000
What is Ukraine really up to with its audacious Kursk land grab?
Tom Watling30 August 2024 06:00
1724993911
Former Russian defence official detained in fraud case
A former defence ministry official was held in a fraud case on Thursday, the latest high-profile arrest in what appears to be a sweeping investigation into abuse of office in Russia’s military leadership.
Former deputy defence minister Pavel Popov faces up to 10 years in prison if he is charged and convicted following his detention on suspicion of committing fraud, Russian state news agencies reported, adding that he was ordered held until at least 29 October.
The case against Popov relates to business activities at a sprawling park in Moscow sometimes called Russia’s “military Disneyland”.
File: Russian president Vladimir Putin during a meeting outside Moscow (Reuters)
Patriot Park, a pet project of former defence minister Sergei Shoigu, is designed to inspire national pride in younger generations and showcases Soviet and Russian weaponry. It has a firing range, air base, museums and conference centre and a massive, khaki-colored Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces, which features mosaics of Soviet and Russian soldiers. President Vladimir Putin personally donated money to commission the main icon for the church, according to the Kremlin.
Popov is the eighth top military figure to be arrested on charges of fraud, bribery or abuse of office in recent months, including deputy defence minister Timur Ivanov, who was arrested for bribery in April and later dismissed from his position. The arrests began shortly before Putin replaced Shoigu with an economist, Andrei Belousov.
Namita Singh30 August 2024 05:58
1724992202
Netherlands backs Ukraine’s demands to use F-16 to strike Russian territory
The Netherlands has backed Ukraine in its demand to use F-16 fighter jets to strike inside Russian territory.
Ukraine has been ramping up calls for Kyiv to be allowed to strike deeper into mainland Russia, saying that restricting anything short of full capability renders the long-range missiles “useless”.
“We have not placed any restrictions on the use and range of the F-16, provided that the laws of war are adhered to,” the Netherlands’ chief of defence Onno Eichelsheim told Dutch outlet NOS in remarks published on Thursday.
Earlier on 6 August, Ukrainian troops entered Russian Kursk and according to Kyiv, they have now taken over a hundred places in the region.
Calling the idea “brilliant in practical terms”, he said “They have taken a large area in a good way, with new techniques, quite quickly. In doing so, they have created a dilemma for [Russian president Vladimir] Putin.”
Namita Singh30 August 2024 05:30
1724990400
Kyiv residents sing anthem while sheltering in subway during attack
Kyiv residents sing city’s anthem while sheltering in subway during rocket attack
Kyiv residents were filmed early on Monday 26 August singing the city’s official anthem in a subway station as air raid sirens sounded throughout Ukraine’s capital and other parts of the country. A total of 15 regions were targeted by an overnight Russian aerial barrage, prime minister Denys Shmyhal said. The attack was conducted with drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic air-launched ballistic “Kinzhal” missiles. Ukrainians are instructed to immediately take shelter in underground spaces when air sirens go off. Subway stations, many of which were built in the Soviet era to double as bomb shelters, have become a part of many people’s wartime experience and forums for cultural resistance.
Tom Watling30 August 2024 05:00
1724989244
IAEA’s Rafael Grossi to travel to Ukraine to assess developments at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
IAEA director general Rafael Grossi will travel to Ukraine next week to hold high-level talks and assess developments at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the IAEA said on Thursday.
Namita Singh30 August 2024 04:40
1724988615
Serbia announces deal to buy 12 French warplanes in shift away from Russia
Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic has announced a $3bn deal to buy 12 French warplanes, in a move that shifts his country away from its dependence on Russian arms.
The announcement about the Rafale multi-purpose fighter jets was made during a joint news conference in Belgrade with French president Emmanuel Macron, who was on a two-day visit to Serbia.
File: A French rafale fighter jet is takes off for a daily Nato border watch mission (AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Macron called it a “historic and important” deal and praised Serbia’s “strategic courage. It’s a true demonstration of European spirit”.
An official in Mr Macron’s office, who was not authorised to be identified according to French presidential policy, said the warplane deal was part of larger strategy of “bringing Serbia closer to the EU”.
Serbia needs to upgrade its fleet and the Rafale is a “strategic choice” for Belgrade, which could choose to rely only on Russian equipment instead, the official said.
Serbia had been considering the purchase of the new Rafale jets for more than two years, since neighbouring Balkan rival Croatia purchased 12 used fighter jets of the same type.
Namita Singh30 August 2024 04:30
1724988217
Chinese leader Xi meets US national security adviser as the two powers try to avoid conflict
Chinese leader Xi Jinping met with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday as the latter wound up a three-day visit with the stated aim of keeping communications open in a relationship that has become increasingly tense in recent years.
The two also discussed China’s support for Russia, as a recent US assessment found that the country was exporting technology that Russia uses to manufacture missiles, tanks and other weaponry. They also discussed efforts to end the Ukraine war, but Mr Sullivan said they did not make any progress on that issue.
In this photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese president Xi Jinping, right, meets with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan (AP)
Starting with a trade war that dates back to 2018, China and the US have grown at odds over a range of issues, from global security, such as China’s claims over the South China Sea, to industrial policy on electric vehicle and solar panel manufacturing. Mr Sullivan’s trip this week is meant to keep the tensions from spiraling into conflict.
Namita Singh30 August 2024 04:23
1724986907
Ukraine says one of its Western-donated F-16 warplanes has crashed
One of the handful of F-16 warplanes that Ukraine has received from its Western partners to help fight Russia’s invasion has crashed, Ukraine’s Army General Staff said on Thursday. The pilot died.
The fighter jet went down on Monday, when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine, a military statement posted on Facebook said. Four of those Russian missiles were shot down by F-16s, the statement said.
The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where they arrived at the end of last month. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered.
The defense ministry has opened an investigation into the crash.
The Ukrainian air force in a Facebook post identified the pilot as Colonel Alexei “Moonfish” Mes, who “saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles, unfortunately, at the cost of your own life.”
Moonfish and a fellow Ukrainian pilot, Andrii “Juice” Pilshchykov, made an early, public visit to the US in June 2022 to press lawmakers and media to send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets and they both continued to serve as public faces for Ukraine’s battle to secure its airspace.
Juice was killed in an August 2023 accident.“When I met with Ukraine pilots Juice and Moonfish I had a sick feeling they wouldn’t make it through the war,” former US congressman Adam Kingzinger posted on X. “They fought like hell for Ukraine, and the F16.”
Namita Singh30 August 2024 04:01
1724986800
Why is Russia launching massive airstrikes across Ukraine?
Tom Watling30 August 2024 04:00
1724983200
Russian fighter jet downed over Ukraine as oil depot set ablaze
Tom Watling30 August 2024 03:00