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Ukraine live briefing: Zelensky vows response after Chernihiv strike kills 7; drone strikes in Russia

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Updated August 20, 2023 at 6:14 p.m. EDT|Published August 20, 2023 at 2:00 a.m. EDT

On this photograph launched by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Provider on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky takes a selfie with Dutch Prime Minister Label Rutte at Eindhoven Air Scandalous within the Netherlands. (AFP/Getty Pictures)

Ukraine will accumulate F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands and Denmark, the Dutch prime minister and Danish Protection Ministry confirmed Sunday — a transfer Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky known as “historic, extremely efficient and motivational.” The announcement came within the midst of a search the advice of with to the Netherlands by Zelensky and after the Biden administration said it would inexperienced-gentle such transfers as soon as Ukrainian pilots are expert to protest the American-made airplane.

Russian officers reported drone strikes in four regions of western and southern Russia, and blamed Ukraine. An uptick in attacks deep within Russian territory potentially methodology Russian protection power leaders are below stress to tighten air defenses, Britain’s Protection Ministry said.

Right here’s essentially the most up-to-the-minute on the battle and its ripple outcomes across the globe.

Key developments

The Netherlands and Denmark agreed “to transfer F-16 airplane to Ukraine and the Ukrainian Air Force in shut cooperation with the U.S. and various partners, when the conditions for this kind of transfer are met.” Dutch Prime Minister Label Rutte made the announcement Sunday, after touring a Dutch air shocking with Zelensky, news wires reported. Rutte declined to philosophize how many F-16s could perchance well be despatched to Ukraine, and said the Netherlands has 42 of them in stock, primarily based mostly on Reuters. “Rutte and I agreed on the sequence of F-16s that would perchance be offered to Ukraine — after practicing our pilots and engineers. 42 planes,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. Kyiv has argued that fighter jets could perchance well serve its forces greater defend the sky above Ukraine and stop extra Russian attacks.

Denmark will give 19 F-16s to Ukraine, Zelensky announced on Telegram after assembly with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Sunday. Denmark has already started practicing Ukrainian pilots and engineers within the nation. Zelensky spoke Sunday with about a of the Ukrainians present process the practicing at an air shocking of the Royal Danish Air Force, where the two leaders furthermore discussed the “enlargement of practicing missions,” Zelensky added.

Zelensky said the protection power would “reply tangibly” to an attack on Chernihiv, which killed no longer lower than seven of us, in conjunction with a 6-one year-used runt one. Ukrainian authorities said 144 of us were injured within the daytime strike on a theater within the northern metropolis. The regional governor said the strike “potentially” interesting a ballistic missile.

The attack on Chernihiv turned “a common Saturday … accurate into a day of distress and loss,” Zelensky said. The United Countries humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, condemned the attack — about 80 miles north of the capital, Kyiv, and a long way from the front traces of the battle — saying in an announcement that it “is notorious to attack the first square of a tall metropolis, within the morning, while of us are out strolling, some going to the church to celebrate a non secular day for many Ukrainians.”

Drone strikes in Russia

Five of us were injured after a drone attack on a protest web page online in Russia no longer a long way from the Ukrainian border. The governor of the Kursk web page online said in a Telegram put up early Sunday that a Ukrainian drone strike on the procure web site triggered a hearth on the roof and that folks were “a runt bit injured” by falling glass.

The Russian Protection Ministry said it foiled deliberate drone strikes on the border web page online of Belgorod. The ministry said three drones attempted to center of attention on facilities in Belgorod between 2 and a pair of:40 p.m. local time on Sunday. It said air protection programs destroyed the drones and no injury was carried out. The Post couldn’t independently ascertain the claims. The regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that “12 air targets” were shot down as they approached Belgorod. He said “the penalties on the bottom” were light being clarified.

Russia said it stopped a drone attack it blamed on Ukraine early Sunday, the Russian Protection Ministry said. The ministry said it used digital methodology to disable the drone. It said the attack did no injury and nobody was wound. The Post couldn’t independently ascertain the file. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency said that two airports spherical Moscow — Vnukovo and Domodedovo — had to temporarily divert flights to assorted airports in a single day to be certain that the protection of these on board. The airports were operating on the total Sunday morning, it said.

Russian forces furthermore thwarted a drone attack within the southern web page online of Rostov, regional governor Vasily Golubev said early Sunday. Golubev said two drones “fell on the territory of a protection power unit in Kamensk,” a Russian metropolis bordering the eastern Ukrainian web page online of Luhansk, and said one more drone fell near Novoshakhtinsk, some 50 miles south. He said no casualties or injury occurred. The Post couldn’t independently ascertain the file.

Battleground updates

Russian protection power leaders are “extremely doubtless below intense stress to augment air defences over western Russia,” the British Protection Ministry said, as Ukraine’s skill to strike deep within Russian territory has improved in most up-to-the-minute months, resulting in extra frequent drone and ballistic missile attacks. The stress to prevent these strikes could perchance well be falling on “the leadership of Russia’s Aerospace Forces,” or VKS, and namely on “VKS Chief of Team, Colonel-Customary Viktor Afzalov,” the ministry said Sunday in its day-to-day intelligence evaluate.

It’s “untimely to construct assessments about the general success” of Kyiv’s counteroffensive, the Institute for the Gaze of Warfare said in an evaluate, following a file by The Post whereby of us aware of a labeled forecast from the U.S. intelligence neighborhood said Ukraine would fail in its perform of severing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea on this one year’s push. The D.C.-primarily based mostly deem tank said it maintains that “the general degradation of the Russian defensive line creates alternatives for any Ukrainian leap forward to be potentially operationally basic.”

Kherson Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported Russian attacks within the procure web site on Sunday that injured two and killed one. A Russian drone dropped two explosives on a 33-one year-used man strolling on a boulevard within the village of Novoberyslav, straight killing him, the governor wrote on Telegram. A Russian tank centered a residential building within the Kozatske village, causing life-threatening accidents to a 60-one year-used girl. Every other 45-one year-used girl is within the clinical institution with shrapnel wounds, he added.

Russia shelled Kupyansk in northern Ukraine “all day prolonged,” said Oleh Synyehubov, head of Kharkiv’s regional administration, on Telegram, in conjunction with that no longer lower than 11 civilians were injured, seven in valuable condition. He said the occupiers hit a central house of the metropolis, antagonistic autos and causing fires.

Russia shelled populated areas in Donetsk, wounding two females and two men on Sunday, the Donetsk regional prosecutor’s space of business said on Telegram. Two of them were at dwelling, and two others were riding on the highway.

International impact

Kyiv has an settlement with Stockholm to construct armored autos identified as CV90s within Ukraine, Zelensky said in his nightly address. He did now not specify how many or what the settlement entailed. On his search the advice of with to Sweden this weekend, Zelensky and Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson furthermore discussed Ukraine’s need for Swedish-made Gripen fighter jets, which Stockholm earlier this summer agreed to permit Ukrainian pilots to ascertain.

The United States is expected to soon double its prewar monthly manufacturing of the customary NATO artillery spherical, The Post reports, increasing its output from 14,000 items a month sooner than Russia’s invasion to finally 28,000 items a month. However industry specialists warn of challenges in sustaining the elevated manufacturing ranges, no longer ultimate to abet Ukraine battle efforts however furthermore to be certain that U.S. security in skill conflicts with China or Russia.

From our correspondents

Ukraine operating out of alternatives to retake basic territory: Bigger than two months into the extremely anticipated counteroffensive that officers touted as Ukraine’s basic change to retake territory from Russian forces, evidently the grief is stalling and Ukraine is operating out of alternatives, The Post’s Susannah George reports.

The slogging effort has stoked fears in Washington and Europe that the battle will doubtless be reaching a stalemate and that global make stronger could perchance well erode. Franz-Stefan Gady, a senior fellow with the International Institute for Strategic Learn and the Center for a Novel American Security, said “the demand right here is which of the two facets is going to be used out sooner.”

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