Ukraine should receive the first American F-16 fighters in June: two European officials told the US magazine Foreign Policy.
“I think we will see them in Ukraine in June,” Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said, citing a timeline confirmed by another European official in Munich.
The Ukrainian government expects 12 pilots to be trained on combat aircraft by September, the newspaper recalls.
For further information ANSA Agency Avdiivka has fallen, Ukrainian troops withdraw - News - Ansa.it Kiev: 'Let's save our soldiers'.
But now Kupyansk is in the crosshairs (ANSA)
Kiev, another Russian fighter-bomber shot down
The Ukrainian air defense forces shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber this morning: this was reported by the commander of the Kiev Air Force, as reported by Suspilne.
Furthermore, 12 Russian drones and a Kh-59 guided missile were destroyed during the night.
Yesterday the Ukrainian army shot down a Su-35 fighter and two Su-34 fighter-bombers.
The Air Force announced on Telegram that during the night Russian forces launched 6 S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles into Ukraine from the occupied territory of the Donetsk region (east), 3 Kh-22 cruise missiles from the Russian city of Voronezh , one Kh-59 guided missile from the occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region, as well as 14 drones from Russian territory (Prymorsko-Akhtarsk and Kursk).
Two people were killed and two others were injured yesterday in the Donetsk region (east) due to Russian attacks: the head of the regional military administration, Vadym Filashkin, announced this on Telegram, as reported by Ukrinform.
"On February 17, Russians killed two residents of the Donetsk region, in Kramatorsk. Two more people were injured in the region," Filashkin wrote.
Overall, 1,865 people have died and 4,577 have been injured in the Donetsk region since the start of the war.
Ukrainian forces yesterday repelled an offensive by Russian troops in the direction of Zaporizhzhia, killing around 70 enemy soldiers: this was announced by the Western operational command, as reported by Rbc-Ukraine.
The Russians unsuccessfully attempted 13 times to attack Ukrainian positions west of Verbovoy and Robotyny in the Zaporizhzhia region, but were forced to retreat to previous positions, the army explains.
The pilot of one of the Russian fighters shot down yesterday by Ukrainian forces directed his damaged jet towards a town in the Lugansk region (east), causing an as yet unspecified number of victims: the head of the regional military administration announced this on Telegram , Artem Lysohor, as reported by Ukrinform.
"The pilot of a Russian fighter plane yesterday dropped several guided bombs on Ukrainian defense positions. And when he was already a goner, he thought only of himself on board the damaged plane. Therefore, he directed the plane not towards the fields and forests, but towards settlements of the Antratsyt community in the occupied Luhansk region,” Lysohor wrote, adding that “the number of victims is not yet known.”
Yesterday, Ukrainian forces shot down three Russian fighter planes: two Su-34 fighter-bombers and one Su-35 fighter.
In the active phase of the fighting for Avdiivka, which began on 10 October 2023, the Russian army lost almost 50,000 soldiers and more than 1,300 units of military equipment: this was announced by the commander of the 'Tavria' troops deployed in the sector, Oleksandr Tarnavsky, as Suspilne reports.
Putin, 'Ukraine is a matter of life and death for us'
“The situation over Ukraine is a matter of life and death for Russia, while the West doesn't care that much.”
Russian President
Vladimir Putin
said this in an interview with the journalist of the All-Russian Radio and Television Company Pavel Zarubin.
Tass reports it.
The Russian president stressed how important it is to make Russians and foreigners understand what meaning Russia attaches to "everything related to Ukraine".
The Kremlin leader specified that "for the West it is only a question of improving the tactical position, while for us it is a question of our destiny, it is a question of life and death".
Commenting on the recent interview he had with former anchorman Tucker Carlson, Putin then added that "Americans will struggle to understand the historical references contained" in it.
"I gave them only the most popular theory regarding the Norman origin, and I think for the Western listener and viewer it was not easy. Especially for the Americans," the president said.
“Ukraine continues to receive money from Russia for the transit of its gas to Europe, despite ongoing hostilities,” Putin added, according to Interfax.
“Strange as it may seem” the Ukrainians “continue to receive money from us for the transit” of Russian gas.
"They call us aggressors, but money doesn't stink and they are collecting money. Very few people talk about it," Putin said in an interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin.
"They still receive money from Gazprom," the Kremlin leader underlined.
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