???? Live: Ukraine air force says it will not be able to operate F-16s this year

Issued on: 17/08/2023 – 07:12

2 min

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)