The United States (US) has given approval to its allies, Denmark and the Netherlands, to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, according to officials. It was not immediately clear when Ukraine would receive the jets, which it has long asked for in the face of Russia’s air power advantage.
In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said, “We welcome Washington’s decision to pave the way for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.”
The US had to approve the F-16 deal because the jets were made in the US. Despite the news, it was not immediately clear when Ukraine would receive the jets. The pilots had to undergo extensive training before Ukraine could receive the jet.
Meanwhile, Ukraine attempted to launch a drone strike against Moscow early on Friday, but Russian troops shot down the drone.
The US has given approval to its allies, Denmark and the Netherlands, to send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. (Photo: Illustration/VOA)
After the Russians shot down the drone, the wreckage fell on the Moscow Expo Center, a sprawling exhibition building located less than 6.4 kilometers from the Kremlin.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram that the wreckage of the plane fell near the Expo Center “but did not cause significant damage.”
Ukraine on Thursday claimed that its counteroffensive had recaptured several Russian-held areas in the southeast of the country in their advance after liberating the village of Urozhaine.
It was an attempt to advance towards the Sea of Azov, to split the Russian occupying forces in two.
“To the south at Urozhaine, Ukrainian forces have succeeded,” military spokesman Andriy Kovaliov said on national television. He did not provide other details.
Urozhaine, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, is the first village Kyiv says it has recaptured since July 27 in a difficult and bitter war on the heavily mined Russian territory.
Urozhaine is located only about 90 kilometers north of the Sea of Azov and about 100 kilometers west of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.
Vladimir Rogov, the official assigned by Russia to the Moscow-controlled part of Zaporizhzhia, said Urozhaine and the neighboring village of Staromaiorske were not under Ukrainian control.
But drone footage of the fierce battle for Urozhaine has emerged showing dozens of Russian soldiers fleeing south of the village.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s territory, including the Crimean Peninsula it annexed in 2014, most of the Luhansk region and large parts of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
Kyiv said its counteroffensive had been slower than expected because of the extent of the Russian minefield and the strength of the Russian defensive lines. (uh/ab)
