Russia claimed on Saturday to have shot down four Ukrainian missiles targeting annexed Crimea, in a context of an increase in deadly strikes on both sides since the end of December. Follow the latest developments in the war in Ukraine hour by hour.
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1:47 p.m.: Ukrainian bombings in Golivka, a town under Moscow control in eastern Ukraine
In Golivka, a town controlled by Moscow in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian bombings left one dead and two injured on Saturday, Mayor Ivan Prikhodko reported on Telegram.
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1:37 p.m.: Denmark will deliver F-16s to Ukraine “in the second quarter of 2024”
The donation of American F-16 fighter jets by Denmark to Ukraine, eagerly awaited by kyiv, should take place in the second quarter of 2024, once pilot training is completed, Copenhagen said on Saturday.
“According to the current schedule, the donation should take place in the second quarter of 2024,” the Danish Ministry of Defense said in a statement to AFP, while Ukrainian pilots are currently being trained on Danish soil. “This includes finalizing the training of Ukrainian personnel who will operate the aircraft after the donation,” it is specified.
Denmark, which is replacing its F-16s with more modern F-35s, has promised Ukraine 19 aircraft. The Netherlands, which participates in the training of Ukrainian pilots, must give 42 but has not revealed its schedule.
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12:06 p.m.: the debate on a delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine relaunched in Germany
The debate over a delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to kyiv is intensifying in Germany, with several politicians urging Chancellor Olaf Scholz to give his approval in the face of Russia’s massive bombing of Ukraine since the start of the year.
“The delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine should have taken place a long time ago,” judged Saturday Sara Nanni, a spokesperson for the Green parliamentary group, a party that is a member of the government coalition of social democrat Olaf Scholz. “The most effective protection against Russian air attacks is to hit targets located on Russian territory and in the occupied territories of eastern Ukraine, from which Russia launches its attacks,” she said. estimated in an interview with the daily Rheinische Post.
However, Ukraine does not have the means until now, in particular because Berlin refuses it these missiles which kyiv has been asking for months, according to it.
Promising to help Ukraine for as long as necessary “seems cynical when Europe” delivers “certainly enough for it not to lose, but not enough for it to liberate its entire territory”, criticized in the same newspaper, MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the FDP liberals also allied to the government, who has been calling for the sending of Taurus to Ukraine for several months.
Read alsoAid to Ukraine: despite “politician” blockages, “Westerners remain mobilized”
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10:18 a.m.: Russia claims to have shot down four Ukrainian missiles flying over annexed Crimea
Russia claimed on Saturday to have shot down four Ukrainian missiles targeting annexed Crimea, in a context of an increase in deadly strikes on both sides since the end of December. “Air defense intercepted and destroyed four Ukrainian missiles over the Crimean Peninsula,” the Russian Defense Ministry said.
For its part, kyiv claimed to have struck the Saki air base in the west of the peninsula. “Saki airfield! All targets have been hit,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on social media.
The authorities of the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine and targeted by increasingly intense Ukrainian bombings, offered Friday to residents who wished to evacuate them and secure the windows to protect them from shell fragments. .
Ukraine said it shot down 21 of the 29 explosive drones launched by Russia overnight from Thursday to Friday without reporting major damage.
Ukraine’s air force said Friday it could not confirm at this stage Russia’s use of North Korean missiles after the United States said Moscow had used such a weapon to attack Ukraine.
With AFP