Saturday, August 26, 2023
1804 GMT - Three Ukrainian pilots died after two L-39 trainer aircraft collided over a region west of the capital on Friday, the country's air force said in a statement.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is counting on swift training of Ukrainian crews to fly up to 61 F-16 fighter jets promised by his Western allies, said the three men included Andriy Pilshchykov, "a Ukrainian officer, one of those who greatly helped our state."
The investigation is ongoing, he added in his nightly video address.
"It is too early to discuss details. Certainly, all circumstances will be clarified."
The air force said the crash occurred in Zhytomyr region in central Ukraine.
Pilshchykov, who used the callsign "Juice," had become well known after giving numerous interviews to international media, it said.
"We express our condolences to the families of the victims. This is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us," the air force wrote on the Telegram app.
Zelenskyy offered condolences to the pilots' families and added, "Ukraine will never forget anyone who defended the free skies of Ukraine."
More updates 👇
0945 GMT -Russian shelling kills two in Ukraine's northeast - governor
Two people have been killed and one wounded after Russian forces shelled a village near the town of Kupiansk in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, the region's governor said.
Officials in Kupiansk, about six kilometres from the frontline, had urged vulnerable residents living near the town to evacuate earlier this month as Russia stepped up attacks to recapture the area.
"According to the preliminary information of the medical staff, two people died in Podoly village as a result of the shelling, another one was wounded," Kharkiv governor Oleg Synegubov said on social media.
"The enemy hit a civilian target -- a cafe, where local residents were spending the day," he added.
The Russian military has said over recent days that it is advancing near the area, which was recaptured by Ukraine last year but is now subject to a renewed offensive.
Russian air defences have destroyed a drone as it approached Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said.
"Tonight, air defence forces destroyed a drone on approach to Moscow in the Istrinskii district," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
"Preliminarily, there were no casualties or damage. Emergency services are working on the site," he added.
0941 GMT - Moscow airports suspend flights following latest reported drone strike
A drone attack on Moscow forced a temporary shutdown of all three major airports serving the city, Russian state media has reported.
Officials blamed Ukraine for what appeared to be the latest of near-daily strikes on the Russian capital and the surrounding region.
Kiev has since early this year sought to take the 18-month war into the heart of Russia, also saying recently that it was behind strikes on Russian military assets far behind the front lines.
Russia’s defence ministry and Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that a drone was shot down over the Istra district of the Moscow region, some 50 kilometers west of Red Square.
Sobyanin said in a Telegram post that there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage.
0846 GMT - Russia says second drone downed as Ukrainian shells wound four
Russia has said that its air defences shot down one drone approaching Moscow and another in a border region while Ukrainian shelling wounded four in a border town.
The Russian defence ministry said one drone was destroyed approaching Moscow at around 0000 GMT and another close to the border in Belgorod region at 0600 GMT.
The drone attacks came as the governor of Russia's Belgorod region said Kiev shelled the town of Urazovo, about 10 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, injuring four people.
"The Ukrainian armed forces shelled the town of Urazovo in Valuysky municipal district with Grad shells," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media.
He said Ukraine used "cluster munitions" in the attack, and that residential homes and an agricultural shop were hit.
"According to preliminary data, there are 4 victims -- three men and one woman. All of them have shrapnel wounds," he added.
0700 GMT - Ukraine will speed up advance on southern front -commander Ukrainian forces believe they have broken through the most difficult line of Russian defences in the south and will now be able to advance more quickly, a commander fighting in the south told Reuters.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June, but well-prepared Russian defence lines reinforced by minefields have slowed their southward advance towards the Sea of Azov.
Ukrainian forces said on Wednesday they had raised the national flag in the settlement of Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, about 10 km south of the frontline town of Orikhiv.
"We don't stop here," said a commander who led some of the troops into Robotyne and uses the nom de guerre "Kombat".
"Next we have (the town of) Berdiansk, and then more. I made it clear to my fighters at once: our goal is not Robotyne, our goal is (the Sea of) Azov."
0330 GMT - Russia's military ties with Iran will withstand geopolitical pressure: RIA
Russia's military co-operation with Iran will not succumb to geopolitical pressure, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, following reports that Washington has asked Teheran to stop selling drones to Moscow.
"There are no changes, and co-operation with Iran will continue," Ryabkov said, according to a report from Russian state news agency RIA.
"We are independent states and do not succumb to the dictates of the United States and its satellites."
The US is pressing Iran to stop selling the armed drones, which Russia is using in the war in Ukraine, the Financial Times reported earlier this month, citing an Iranian official and another person familiar with the talks.
Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia but said in the past they were sent before Russia's February 2022 offensive in Ukraine. Moscow has denied its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine.
0205 GMT – Ukraine says it hit Russian military base in annexed Crimea
Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said a Ukrainian drone attack had hit a Russian military base deep inside annexed Crimea, while residents reported casualties, explosions and a road closure.
Ukrainian intelligence officials said the attack struck Russia's 126th Coastal Defence Brigade based in Perevalnoye, a town more than 200 km from Ukraine-controlled territory.
"We confirm that there was a hit," said GUR spokesperson Andriy Yusov, according to Ukrainian media outlet Liga.Net.
"People - not only on the Ukrainian mainland but also in Crimea - need to remember and believe that our victory and their liberation are not far away," Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said of the strike.
Perevalnoye residents, posting on the Telegram messaging app, reported hearing blasts from the military base and cited casualties. Reuters news agency could not independently verify the reports.
0203 GMT – Russia downs drone approaching Moscow: mayor
Russian air defences have destroyed a drone as it approached Moscow, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said.
"Tonight, air defence forces destroyed a drone on approach to Moscow in the Istrinskii district," Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.
"Preliminarily, there were no casualties or damage. Emergency services are working on the site," he added.
For our live updates from Friday (August 25), click here.
