RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine scrambling to avoid Russian strikes on airbases – FT

Russia has ramped up attacks on airbases used by Kiev to launch long-range missile attacks, forcing Ukrainian personnel and aircraft to constantly be on the move to avoid being struck, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources.

Ukrainian officials told the paper that Kiev and its backers believe that Moscow’s recent attacks on airbases and pilot training facilities in western Ukraine are aimed at decimating its fleet of bombers used to fire British Storm Shadow and French Scalp missiles.

Ukraine is “racing to move around crucial weaponry and its skilled personnel” across dozens of airbases and commercial airports, the report said.

Ukraine’s Air Force Command spokesman, Yury Ignat, acknowledged the issue, claiming to the FT that Moscow was trying to undermine the country’s air power because “our pilots are bothering them… [and] causing a lot of trouble.” 

Meanwhile, Yury Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, called on the West to provide Kiev with more air defense systems as well as to speed up pilot training and deliveries of F-16 fighter jets. Ukrainian officials have been asking for US-made advanced jets for months, but do not expect them to arrive until 2024.

In May, the UK supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles with a range of about 250km. France followed suit by sending Scalp missiles capable of reaching targets at the same distance. After receiving the deliveries, Kiev used Storm Shadow missiles to attack civilian facilities and infrastructure in the Russian city of Lugansk and on the Crimean Peninsula.

Reports of intensified attacks on Ukrainian facilities storing long-range assets come after the Russian Defense Ministry said last week that it had conducted high-precision strikes on a military airbase in Ivano-Frankovsk Region in the western part of Ukraine, successfully hitting all the designated targets.

Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against supplying Ukraine with weapons, arguing that this will only prolong the conflict. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov has cautioned that the Russian military would take adequate countermeasures.

** Ukrainian naval drone targets Russian vessels – MOD

Two Black Sea Fleet vessels thwarted an attempted attack by a Ukrainian maritime drone Thursday evening, the Russian Defense Ministry said. 

“Today at 22.55, the armed forces of Ukraine made an unsuccessful attempt to attack the ships of the Black Sea Fleet, performing the tasks of controlling navigation in the southwestern part of the Black Sea, 237 km southwest of Sevastopol,” the Russian military said.

The unmanned boat was destroyed by gunfire from the patrol frigate Pytlivy and the patrol ship Vasily Bykov, before it could reach its target.

Thursday’s attack is the second time this month that Ukraine has attempted to sink the Bykov. On August 1, three maritime drones attacked the patrol ship and its sister Sergey Kotov in the Black Sea, but were likewise destroyed by on-board cannons.

With its fleet reduced to a handful of patrol boats, Ukraine has resorted to attacks on Russian ships and infrastructure by remotely operated vessels. In mid-July, a drone damaged a span of the Crimean Bridge, killing two civilians and injuring another. Earlier this month, the Russian tanker Sig was struck by another drone on the approach to Crimea, but was towed to port.

On Wednesday, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) provided CNN with video of the bridge attack by the drone, which its chief Vasily Malyuk called ‘Sea Baby.’ Malyuk described the drones as “a unique invention” of the SBU.

Ukraine first claimed to have sunk the Bykov in March 2022, using rockets launched from the shore in Odessa. The ship turned up unharmed in the port of Sevastopol a week later, however. 

Earlier this week, the Bykov stopped and boarded a Palau-registered cargo ship Sukru Okan in the Black Sea, after the Ukraine-bound vessel ignored the Russian requests to heave to and be inspected. 

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Drone attack damaged building in Moscow centre

A Ukrainian drone attack damaged a building in central Moscow early on Friday, causing a blast that was heard across the business district of the Russian capital, Russian officials said.

A Reuters witness who was in the area described it as "a powerful explosion".

Russian air defence systems shot down a drone and its debris fell on the Expo Center, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a statement on his official channel on Telegram.

The Expo Center is a large space used for massive exhibitions, less than 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) away from the Kremlin.

A video published by Russian media outlets showed thick smoke rising next to skyscrapers.

The Russian defence ministry said that Ukraine was behind the drone attack.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv.

** US approves sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands

The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russian invaders as soon as pilot training is completed, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

Ukraine has actively sought the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian air superiority.

Washington gave Denmark and the Netherlands official assurances that the United States will expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained, the official said.

Denmark and the Netherlands had recently asked for those assurances. The U.S. must approve the transfer of the military jets from its allies to Ukraine.

A coalition of 11 countries was due to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets this month in Denmark. Denmark's acting Defense Minister Troels Poulsen said in July that the country hoped to see "results" from the training in early 2024.

NATO members Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading international efforts to train pilots as well as support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately enable Ukraine to obtain F-16s for use in its war with Russia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests would be approved, the U.S. official said.

"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 a letter to the two officials, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.

Blinken said, "It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty."

He said 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."

U.S. President Joe Biden endorsed training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May. In addition to training in Denmark, a training center was to be set up in Romania.

Kyiv will not be able to operate U.S.-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter, Ukraine air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday.

U.S. officials have privately said that F-16 jets would have been of little help to Ukraine in its current counteroffensive and will not be a game changer when they eventually arrive given Russian air defense systems and contested skies over Ukraine.

The F-16 is made by Lockheed Martin.

RT/Reuters