04:11
US: new sanctions for deportation of Ukrainian children
The US State Department on Thursday announced sanctions against 13 people and organizations allegedly involved in the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children.
The Ukrainian government estimates that since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russia has deported or forcibly displaced more than 19,500 children.
The United States will also impose visa restrictions on three Russian-appointed authorities for their involvement in human rights violations against Ukrainian minors, the ministry said in a statement.
The sanctions were announced on Ukraine’s Independence Day, which is celebrated on August 24.
“The United States will not stand by while Russia commits these war crimes and crimes against humanity,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Thursday.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Children’s Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for illegally deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children.
04:01
Biden and Zelensky talked about training Ukrainian F-16 pilots
US President Joe Biden spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday about the US training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s. This is reported by the White House. Earlier it was announced that the training will start in September.
“Presidents Biden and Zelensky have spoken about beginning training for Ukrainian fighter jet pilots and ensuring that other countries will quickly transfer their F-16s to Ukraine,” the White House said in a statement.
The pilots will first learn English in Texas in September and then complete pilot training a month later in Arizona, in the southwest of the US, said General Pat Ryder, spokesman for the Pentagon.
Norway announced earlier today that it will supply US-made F-16s to Ukraine, following the Netherlands and Denmark. Denmark had already promised 19 aircraft, the Netherlands would deliver 42 aircraft, according to Zelensky.
02:38
Moscow: ‘Ukrainian missile shot down in Russian region of Kaluga’
Russian air defenses shot down a Ukrainian missile in the Kaluga region, southwest of Moscow, on Thursday night. This has been reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
An attempt by Kiev to “attack civilian targets on the territory of the Russian Federation has been thwarted,” the ministry said on Telegram.
The missile was detected and destroyed by anti-aircraft systems over the Kaluga region.
The ministry did not provide additional information about the targets or whether the downing of the missile caused damage.
The Russian state news agency TASS reported that air traffic was suspended at Moscow airports.
The Kaluga region is next to the Moscow region, which has been the target of Ukrainian drone strikes for several days, according to Russian authorities.
01:01
Ukraine: Russian attacks repelled on large parts of front
The Ukrainian army on Thursday, on the national holiday and exactly eighteen months after the start of the Russian invasion, again repelled several Russian attacks on large parts of the front line. This is reported by the Ukrainian General Staff.
Kupyansk, in the east of the country, and Avdiivka, north of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk, are named as two targets of shelling in a General Staff report. Several civilians were injured or killed on the 547th day of the war.
The Russians went on the offensive near Maryinka, southwest of Donetsk, but Kiev managed to hold them back, it also sounds. The information from the army could not be verified by independent sources.
The Russian artillery and air force would be deployed on all fronts. Russia invaded Ukraine exactly one and a half years ago, on February 24, 2022.