The warfare in Ukraine, which broke out in February 2022 with Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor, exhibits no signal of ending as either side intensify assaults to realize management of contested areas.
Learn our newest updates right here. For all our protection, go to our Ukraine war page.
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Observe: Nikkei Asia determined in March 2022 to droop its reporting from Russia till additional info turns into out there relating to the scope of the revised prison code. Entries embody materials from wire companies and different sources.
Listed below are the most recent developments:
Sunday, Aug. 20 (Tokyo time)
6:00 a.m. Coaching has begun for Ukrainians to function U.S. F-16 fighter jets, however it should take a minimum of six months, or presumably longer, to finish, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says, two days after a U.S. official mentioned the fighter jets could be transferred to Ukraine as soon as its pilots had been skilled.
Reznikov says six months of coaching is taken into account the minimal for pilots, but it surely was not but identified how lengthy it might take to coach engineers and mechanics. Ukraine needs the subtle U.S.-made warplanes so it may counter the air superiority of Russia. “Subsequently, to construct affordable expectations, set a minimal of six months in your thoughts, however don’t be dissatisfied whether it is longer,” he says in a TV interview.
Saturday, Aug. 19
8:30 p.m. Seven individuals, together with a 6-year-old youngster, are killed and greater than 120 wounded by a Russian missile assault within the northern metropolis of Chernihiv, in response to the Ukrainian inside ministry.
“A Russian missile hit proper within the heart of town, in our Chernihiv. A sq., the polytechnic college, a theatre,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who’s on a working go to to Sweden, posts on Telegram.
7:15 p.m. A Ukrainian drone focused a army airfield in Russia’s Novgorod area, inflicting a hearth and damaging one warplane, Russia’s Defence Ministry says. In line with the ministry, no one had been harm and the hearth was rapidly extinguished.
5:30 p.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Sweden, saying he’s there to satisfy with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, the royal household and different officers to thank them for supporting Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
1:30 p.m. President Vladimir Putin visited the commander of Russia’s operation in Ukraine and different prime army brass, the Kremlin says, a gathering that got here after Ukraine claimed counteroffensive good points on the southeastern entrance. “Vladimir Putin held a gathering on the headquarters of the particular army operation group in Rostov-on-Don,” the Kremlin mentioned in a press release. Russia, which launched its invasion in Ukraine in February 2022, calls its actions a particular army operation. The Kremlin added that Putin, Russia’s supreme commander-in-chief, listened to experiences from Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Normal Workers of the Military in control of Moscow’s operations in Ukraine, and different prime army commanders and officers.
Friday, Aug. 18
4:30 p.m. Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian drone over central Moscow early Friday and a few fragments fell on an exposition heart, officers says. The Protection Ministry mentioned in a press release that the drone was shot down at about 4 a.m. and there have been no accidents or fireplace attributable to the fragments. Mayor Sergei Sobyanin mentioned a number of the fragments fell on the grounds of the Expocentre, an exhibition complicated adjoining to the Moscow Metropolis business and workplace complicated that was hit twice by drones prior to now month. The world is about 4 km (2.5 miles) west of the Kremlin.
4:00 p.m. The U.S. has permitted sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend in opposition to Russian invaders as quickly as pilot coaching is accomplished, a U.S. official says. Ukraine has actively sought the U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to assist it counter Russian air superiority. Washington gave Denmark and the Netherlands official assurances that America would expedite approval of switch requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots had been skilled, the official mentioned. “We welcome Washington’s choice to pave the way in which for sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine,” Dutch Overseas Minister Wopke Hoekstra mentioned on messaging platform X, previously generally known as Twitter.
5:28 a.m. Ukraine has acquired two IRIS-T air protection programs from Germany, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned in an handle, experiences Reuters.
Thursday, Aug. 17
4:18 p.m. Ukraine within the first half of August exported 820,000 tonnes of grain by way of its ports on the Danube River, which is at present its most important export route, experiences Reuters, citing the APK-Inform consultancy. Ukraine historically exports most of its grain utilizing its deep-water Black Sea ports of Odesa and Mykolaiv, but it surely was pressured to change to the Danube after Russia pulled out of a U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal in mid-July.
5:00 a.m. Russian drones pounded grain storage services and ports alongside the Danube River that Ukraine has more and more relied on instead transport path to Europe after Moscow broke off a key wartime delivery settlement utilizing the Black Sea. On the similar time, a loaded container ship stranded on the Black Sea port of Odesa since Russia’s full-scale invasion greater than 17 months in the past set sail alongside a brief hall established by Ukraine for service provider delivery.
3:47 a.m. Sweden’s authorities says it had instructed the Nationwide Board of Commerce to discover whether or not an increase in exports to nations bordering Russia was triggered by makes an attempt to avoid sanctions imposed over the warfare in Ukraine, experiences Reuters.
Wednesday, Aug. 16
4:00 p.m. Russia’s exit from the Black Sea grain deal practically a month in the past is a shock for 345 million individuals who had been already going through extreme meals insecurity, the chief director of the World Meals Programme says in an interview.
Cindy McCain, who spoke with Nikkei Asia throughout a go to to Fiji and Australia, accuses Moscow of “utilizing meals as a weapon of warfare.” Learn more.
9:30 a.m. Ukraine’s air pressure says a big group of Russian military drones entered the mouth of the Danube River and headed towards the Izmail port throughout the river from Romania. Social media teams reported listening to air protection programs firing within the space close to two Danube ports — Izmail and Reni. Ukraine’s Danube ports accounted for round 1 / 4 of grain exports earlier than Russia pulled out of a U.N.-backed deal to offer secure passage for the export of Ukrainian grain by way of the Black Sea.
Tuesday, Aug. 15
6:05 p.m. Russian airstrikes hit two western areas of Ukraine bordering NATO member Poland and different areas, killing three individuals and wounding greater than a dozen, Ukrainian officers mentioned. Native media mentioned the assaults had been the most important air assault on the Lviv area because the Russian invasion in February 2022. The fatalities had been reported within the northwestern area of Volyn. Officers mentioned an industrial enterprise within the regional capital Lutsk was struck within the in a single day assault. A number of individuals had been additionally hospitalized, Gov. Yuriy Pohulyaiko mentioned.
5:51 p.m. Russia on Tuesday fined social media web site Reddit for the primary time for not deleting “banned content material” that it mentioned contained “pretend” details about Russia’s army marketing campaign in Ukraine, RIA reported, citing a Moscow court docket. Reddit joins an inventory of web sites beneath scrutiny in Russia for failing to take away content material that Moscow deems unlawful, together with Wikimedia, streaming service Twitch and Google. RIA mentioned the court docket had fined Reddit 2 million rubles ($20,365). Reddit didn’t instantly reply to an emailed request for remark.
4:36 p.m. Russia’s central financial institution raised its key rate of interest by 350 foundation factors (3.50 share factors) to 12%, an emergency transfer to attempt to halt the ruble’s latest slide after a public name from the Kremlin for tighter financial coverage. The extraordinary price assembly got here after the ruble plummeted beneath the brink of 100 to the U.S. greenback on Monday, dragged down by the impression of Western sanctions on Russia’s stability of commerce and as army spending soars.
Monday, Aug. 14
11:56 p.m. The U.S. will ship Ukraine new safety help valued at $200 million, together with air protection munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armor capabilities and extra mine-clearing gear, Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a press release.
11:20 p.m. The Financial institution of Russia will maintain an emergency assembly after the Russian forex touched a virtually 17-month low of greater than 101 rubles to the greenback. The assembly “will likely be held to contemplate the difficulty of the important thing price degree,” the central financial institution says.
Russia’s current-account surplus is shrinking on a mixture of falling crude oil costs and the impression of Western sanctions. A weakening ruble is placing upward stress on Russian shopper costs.
4:00 p.m. Chinese language Protection Minister Li Shangfu will go to Russia and Belarus from Aug. 14 to 19, the ministry says. Whereas in Russia, Li will attend a global safety assembly and make a speech there, in response to the ministry. He can even meet with leaders from Russia’s nationwide protection division. Throughout his go to to Belarus, Li will meet with the nation’s head of state and army. China and Russia have strengthened army ties, conducting joint patrols and army workout routines. He met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow in April, vowing to strengthen army cooperation. In July, Li met with the pinnacle of Russia’s navy in Beijing.
1:30 p.m. At the least three individuals had been wounded in two waves of Russian drone and missile assaults in a single day on the port metropolis of Odesa, an official and the army within the Ukrainian area on the Black Sea says. “Because of the enemy assault in Odesa, a number of fires broke out from falling rocket fragments,” the governor, Oleh Kiper, mentioned on the Telegram messaging app. “Home windows in buildings had been blown out by the blast wave.” Ukraine’s armed forces command within the south mentioned that its air protection forces destroyed all 15 drones and eight Kalibr-type sea-based missiles that Russia launched on the port.
5:00 a.m. A Russian warship on Sunday fired warning pictures at a cargo ship within the southwestern Black Sea because it made its means north, the primary time Russia has fired on service provider delivery past Ukraine since exiting a landmark U.N.-brokered grain deal final month. In July, Russia halted participation within the Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export agricultural produce by way of the Black Sea. Moscow mentioned it deemed all ships heading to Ukrainian waters to be probably carrying weapons. On Sunday, Russia mentioned in a press release that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automated weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship’s captain failed to reply to a request to halt for an inspection.
Sunday, Aug. 13
8:20 p.m. Russian air defenses have shot down a minimum of 4 Ukrainian drones over western areas of Russia, the Russian Protection Ministry says. Three had been downed over the Belgorod area and one other over the Kursk area, in response to the announcement.
6:30 p.m. A Russian warship fired warning pictures at a Palau-flagged dry-cargo ship on its method to Ukraine within the southwestern Black Sea, Russia’s Protection Ministry says in a press release. This marks the primary time that Russia has fired on service provider delivery past Ukraine since exiting a landmark United Nations-brokered grain deal final month, Reuters experiences.
3:15 p.m. There’s “a practical risk” that the Kremlin not funds the Wagner mercenary group, the U.Okay.’s Protection Ministry says in its public each day intelligence replace on Ukraine. “If the Russian state not pays Wagner, the second most believable paymasters are the Belarusian authorities,” it says.
Saturday, Aug. 12
2:00 p.m. Russian forces destroyed 20 Ukrainian drones launched onto the Crimean Peninsula early on Saturday, Russia’s Protection Ministry says. There have been no casualties and no harm on account of the tried assault, the ministry mentioned on the Telegram messaging app. It mentioned 14 drones had been destroyed by air protection programs and 6 had been suppressed by digital warfare. It was not instantly clear what was focused within the reported assaults on the Russian-annexed peninsula.
9:00 a.m. Russia’s newest missile strikes, which killed a baby in western Ukraine, represent “warfare crimes and should not go unpunished,” France’s Overseas Ministry says in a press release. “These assaults have as soon as once more focused civilian infrastructure, together with a residential zone, which is a flagrant violation of worldwide humanitarian rights,” the assertion reads. Moscow denies deliberately concentrating on civilians. Russia on Friday launched 4 hypersonic missiles into the western Ukrainian area of Ivano-Frankivsk. Three landed close to a army airfield.
12:50 a.m. The U.S. is imposing sanctions on 4 distinguished members of Russia’s monetary elite who’ve served on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group Consortium, one of many largest monetary and funding conglomerates in Russia, the State Division says.
The U.S. will proceed to take all acceptable motion to carry accountable those that allow and revenue from Russia’s warfare in opposition to Ukraine, in response to the press assertion.
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