Russia and Ukraine have regularly reported drone incursions by air and sea in recent weeks, at a time when Kiev is in the midst of a counter-offensive to recover parts of its territory under Russian control. Moscow has intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s port infrastructure in the Black Sea and on the Danube, since the end of an agreement which had allowed the export of Ukrainian cereals. On Friday August 18, Russia said it destroyed Ukrainian drones that targeted Moscow and its fleet in the Black Sea.
On the front, in the south of the country, Ukrainian forces have entered the eastern bank of the Dnieper, in the Kherson region, an area occupied by Russia, and have taken up position there, confirmed the governor of the region installed by Moscow. .
L’Express summarizes the latest news for you.
Ukraine says it destroyed ’15 Russian drones’
The Kiev armed forces destroyed “fifteen Russian drones” overnight, the Ukrainian army announced on Saturday morning August 19. She claimed that a total of 17 Iranian-made Shahed explosive drones were used in an airstrike, without specifying what happened to the remaining two drones. Russian forces “attacked from the north” with Shahed drones. “A total of 17 attack drones were launched from the Kursk region,” the Ukrainian military wrote on Telegram. Ukrainian air defense has been activated “in the northern and central regions, as well as in the west” of the country, she added.
Putin meets with generals overseeing Ukraine operation
Russian President Vladimir Putin met the generals in charge of the Russian military operation in Ukraine during a meeting in Rostov-on-Don, in southern Russia, the Kremlin announced on Saturday morning. “Vladimir Putin held a meeting in the headquarters of the special military operation,” the presidency said in a statement. “The Head of State listened to the reports of the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, commanders of sectors and other officials”, according to this source.
F-16 to Ukraine: the green light from the United States to Denmark and the Netherlands
The United States announced on Friday that it had given the green light to Denmark and the Netherlands sending American F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, once the Ukrainian pilots have been trained. A US State Department spokesman said Denmark and the Netherlands had received “formal assurances” on the matter. “In this way, Ukraine will be able to take full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first batch of pilots have completed their training. The F-16s will contribute to Ukraine’s defense and deterrence capabilities,” the doorkeeper added. -word.
“Great news from our friends in the United States!”, Quickly welcomed on the X network (ex-Twitter) the Ukrainian Minister of Defense, Oleksiï Reznikov. Since the start of the Russian invasion, kyiv has been tirelessly calling for Western planes to fight Moscow’s forces. The United States has strict rules on the resale or transfer of American military equipment by allies. The date when the Ukrainian pilots will finish their training is not yet known.
This training, delivered by a coalition of 11 countries, was due to start this August, and officials said they hope the pilots will be ready by early 2024. Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren on Friday hailed this green light. “This allows us to carry out things concerning the training of Ukrainian pilots”, she said on X. But “everything takes time”, underlined Kasja Ollongren with the Dutch press agency ANP. It will be several months before the Netherlands can actually send F-16s, she said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in July that the delivery of F-16 fighter jets would be seen by Moscow as a “nuclear” threat. Although the delivery of combat aircraft should help Ukraine in the long term, its army will not be able to benefit from it quickly, even though its counter-offensive, launched last June and supposed to make it possible to reconquer all the territories occupied by Russia, has so far only allowed the recapture of a handful of villages.