Ukraine will not be able to operate US-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday. Ukraine has repeatedly asked its Western allies to supply the country with F-16s, which President Volodymyr Zelensky said would be a signal that Russia’s invasion would end in defeat.Follow our live blog for all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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8:26am: EU transfers €135 million allocated for Russia, Belarus programmes to Ukraine and Moldova effort
The EU transferred €135 million initially allocated for programmes with Russia and Belarus towards strengthening the cooperation with Ukraine and Moldova, it said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
“The decision … is the result of the brutal war of Russia against Ukraine”, EU Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms Elisa Ferreira said.
The EU also decided that regions in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Poland that were supposed to participate in cooperation programmes with Russia and Belarus may participate in other existing programmes.
8:15am: Ukrainian forces claim success on its southeastern front
Ukrainian forces on Thursday claimed success on the southeastern front, where Kyiv’s deputy defence minister said they had liberated the Donetsk region village of Urozhaine.
“In the direction south of Urozhaine they (Ukrainian troops) had success,” military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov told national television. He gave no more details.
Ukraine‘s forces had entrenched themselves on the outskirts of Urozhaine after recapturing the village from Russian forces, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said in a social media post earlier this week.
Urozhaine, on the edge of Donetsk region, is the first village Kyiv said it has retaken since July 27, a sign of the challenge Ukraine faces advancing through heavily mined Russian defensive lines without powerful air support.
12:51am: Ukraine will not be able to operate F-16s this year, says its air force
Ukraine will not be able to operate US-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter, air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday.
“It’s already obvious we won’t be able to defend Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets during this autumn and winter,” Ihnat told a joint telethon broadcast by Ukrainian channels.
Ukraine has repeatedly called its Western allies to supply the country with F-16s, which President Volodymyr Zelensky said would be a signal that Russia’s invasion would end in defeat.
US President Joe Biden endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May but no timing for the supply of the jets has been given so far.
Key developments from Wednesday, August 16:
Ukraine says a container ship left the Black Sea port of Odesa using what it has described as a new temporary corridor for merchant ships to and from its ports, which are blockaded by Russia.
Kyiv last week announced a “humanitarian corridor” in the Black Sea to release cargo ships that have been trapped in its ports since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Russian air strikes on southern Ukraine overnight damaged grain silos and warehouses at one of the Danube river ports, a key facility for grain shipments, the governor of the Odesa region said.
“Russian terrorists attacked Odesa region twice last night with attack drones,” Governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app. “The main target is port and grain infrastructure in the south of the region.”
The presidential office said in a separate statement that there were no casualties.
Read yesterday’s liveblog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)