LIVE – War in Ukraine: Netherlands vows to start delivering F-16s to Kyiv “without delay”

After Russia’s February 2022 invasion, Kyiv began requesting F-16s, with Ukrainian pilots training for months in NATO countries. Many member states of the Atlantic Alliance have committed to deploy such devices, which have been praised for their accuracy, speed and autonomy. President Volodymyr Zelensky told AFP in May that Ukraine needed about 130 to achieve air parity with Russia.
But the West has pledged less than 100.

The Netherlands will begin delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “without delay,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp promised during a visit to Kyiv this weekend. A few days ago, during his first international trip since being appointed head of embassy, ​​he assured that the Netherlands is now ready to ship these US-made devices, with the necessary export licenses granted last week. For Ukrainians.

The Netherlands will begin delivering F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine “without delay,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp promised during a visit to Kyiv this weekend. Ukraine hopes that these American-made devices will help it better protect its soldiers and its cities from daily Russian bombardments.

During his first international trip since his appointment as diplomatic chief a few days ago, Kasper Veldkamp assured that the Netherlands is now ready to send such planes to Ukrainians, having been granted the necessary export licenses last week. “Now we have received the green light for the first F-16s, which will be delivered without delay,” the new minister said during a press conference in the Ukrainian capital yesterday.

According to Russia, Daily Telegraph, destroyed two of Ukraine’s $1 billion Patriot air defense systems in the Odessa region. It is the most expensive weapons system that the patriarch Washington has given to Kiev. It is one of the most advanced air defense systems in the US arsenal, with a powerful radar system and mobile launchers capable of intercepting incoming missiles. Washington has deployed only 14 around the world. Kyiv reportedly has 3-4 launchers after the US approved sending a new battery to Ukraine in June.

Although the Russian military said this afternoon it had captured a new position in eastern Ukraine, Moscow’s forces have been sneaking out of the ground for months, taking advantage of Kiev’s military difficulties to replenish its ranks and receive more weapons and ammunition from the west. Ukraine believes the worst fighting on the frontline is currently taking place in the Donetsk region. On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his demand for any peace with a Ukrainian withdrawal from territories Russia claims to have annexed from September 2022 (Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson).

As Moscow slowly advances on the battlefield, Russia announced this afternoon that it had captured another village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Russian army units have “liberated the region of Sikhari in the Donetsk People’s Republic” (DNR), one of the regions of Ukraine that Russia claims to annex, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

In the Kreminna Forest in the Luhansk region, fighting has been intense for the past few months. After weeks without progress, Kyiv forces were able to recapture Russian trenches on this front. An LCI team was able to move with the Purevi brigade, capturing these positions within 200 meters of the Russian forces:

According to the Kyiv Independent, eight people have been killed and 16 wounded in Russian attacks on Ukraine since yesterday. The strikes targeted 10 Ukrainian regions: Poltava, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhia, Chernihiv, Luhansk, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kharkiv and Donetsk.

A fire broke out last night at an explosives warehouse in the Russian region of Voronezh, which borders Ukraine, after a drone strike by Ukraine, local officials said. “Several drones were detected and destroyed overnight by anti-aircraft defense systems in the Voronezh region,” regional governor Alexander Kusev wrote in a telegram. He added that “the fall of their debris caused a fire at a depot” where “explosives started detonating” in the Podgorensky district. According to initial reports, “no one was injured”.

Russian independent media Mediazona, along with another independent title Meduza and the BBC in Russia, conducted a lengthy investigation to determine Russian losses in the war in Ukraine. Between June 21 and July 5, the two groups of press titles together were able to identify 58,207 names of Kremlin soldiers who fell in battle, or 1,349 additional names. In total, Russian losses since the beginning of the war are estimated by the media to be at least 120,000 fallen soldiers.

In his daily speech on the platforms, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that his country was working on “a new strategy” at sea, “We understand that the war has changed the balance of power in the entire Black Sea region and the Russian Navy will never again dominate these waters”, “Ukraine’s new technological capabilities and our cooperation with our partners.” Taking into account the new relations, the head of state confirmed that Kiev is now consolidating its interests there.

Here are the key facts related to the war in Ukraine in recent hours:

• Capture of a Village: As Moscow slowly advances on the battlefield, Russia announced that its forces had captured a village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had “liberated the village of Shogil”, about 30 km northwest of Donetsk, the capital of the region of the same name, which Moscow said had been annexed since September 2022.
• No Olympics for Russian wrestlers: The Russian wrestling federation announced that its wrestlers, who had been approved to compete in the 2024 Olympics, had “unanimously” refused to go to Paris, condemning it as “a travesty of competition”. At the beginning of December, the International Olympic Committee allowed Russian athletes to participate in the Paris Games, except for team events and compete under a neutral banner, they did not actively support the Russian offensive in Ukraine and they were cleared. Eligibility restriction.
• Demining assistance in Ukraine: Japan will work with Cambodia to clear mines in Ukraine and other war-torn countries, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said during a visit to Phnom Penh. According to the minister, Japan will deliver a powerful demining machine to Ukraine next week and train Ukrainian troops in Cambodia in August to use the equipment.

Hello and welcome to this live broadcast dedicated to the war in Ukraine. Here you can find all the information related to the conflict started by Russia two years ago.