Three Ukrainian Pilots Die in Mid-Air Collision, Russian Base Reportedly Hit

Date: 26 August 2023 - 21:48

News ID: ۱۱۸۷۱۹

KYIV (Dispatches) – Three Ukrainian pilots have died after two L-39 trainer aircraft collided in mid-air in central Ukraine, the country’s air force said in a statement on Saturday.

The loss of three pilots will be a blow to Ukraine, which is about to undertake a huge effort to quickly train up its air crews on Western-donated F-16 fighter jets, up to 61 of which have been pledged to Kyiv.

The crash occurred on Friday over Zhytomyr region, which lies west of Ukraine’s capital Kyiv. The air force said one of the pilots killed, using the callsign “Juice”, had become well known after giving numerous interviews to international media.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency said on Friday a Ukrainian drone attack had hit a Russian military base deep inside annexed Crimea, while residents reported casualties, explosions and a road closure.

Early on Friday, Russia reported one of the biggest coordinated Ukrainian airstrikes yet over Russian-controlled territory but said air defense systems had downed all 42 drones attacking Crimea before they could hit their targets.

Ukrainian intelligence officials said the attack struck Russia’s 126th Coastal Defense Brigade based in Perevalnoye, a town more than 200 km (120 miles) from Ukraine-controlled territory.

“We confirm that there was a hit,” said GUR spokesman Andriy Yusov, according to Ukrainian media outlet Liga.Net.

Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014, declaring it Russian territory.

Furthermore, Russian air defence it has repelled a new drone attack on Moscow, the city’s mayor said, the latest of several attempts to attack the Russian capital with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) this week.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said early on Saturday that a drone was destroyed by air defence systems over the Istra district west of Moscow.

Emergency services were at the scene and there have been no initial reports of damage or casualties, Sobyanin said on the Telegram messaging app.

The early morning drone raid on Saturday forced authorities to temporarily shut down all three main airports serving the capital.

‘U.S. to Reduce Military Aid’

The U.S. is unlikely to give Ukraine “anywhere near the same level” of military aid in 2024 compared to this year, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing officials in Washington. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and his administration insist that they will continue to back Kiev to the hilt.

The U.S. has supplied more than $43 billion worth of arms to Ukraine since Russia’s military operation began last year, while leaked Pentagon documents indicate that NATO countries trained and equipped nine Ukrainian brigades to take part in the ongoing war against Russian forces.

With the Ukrainian military failing to penetrate Russia’s defensive lines after nearly three months of fighting, American military planners are advising their Ukrainian counterparts to stick to their NATO training and use what they’ve been given more effectively, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Washington’s continued bankrolling of the Ukrainian military is a matter of political contention in the U.S. While almost all Democratic members of Congress back Biden’s policy of arming Kiev “for as long as it takes”, a group of more than two dozen Republicans are vehemently opposed.