Key developments on Feb. 8-9: * Ukraine says it downed Russian Su-25 warplane in Donetsk Oblast * Syrskyi marks first year in office by highlighting key achievements, including strikes on 377 military targets in Russia * Military to introduce 'special contracts' to motivate younger volunteer fighters, Zelensky says * 70 Russian drones shot down
Ukrainian air defense shot down 70 Russian drones across the country overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Feb. 9.
"With Ukrainian pilots trained for several months in France on board, they will now participate in defending Ukraine's sky," French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said.
"He was only 24, but he was a competent and experienced warrior who mercilessly beat the (Russian forces) on all their approaches and front lines," the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade said.
The Ukrainian military command's plan to throw high-skilled Air Force personnel into the infantry was said to be halted when the practice gained nationwide attention, followed by a condemnation from President Volodymyr Zelensky. Soldiers, who spoke to the Kyiv Independent on conditions of anonymity, say, however, that nothing has changed,
Reports last week indicated that since 2024, thousands of Air Force soldiers have been transferred to the Ground Forces.
Russia launched 39 drones, including Shahed-type, and four ballistic missiles of either the Iskander-M or the North Korean KN-23 model overnight, the Air Force reported.
Critically lacking manpower on the front lines where Russia continues to use its vast manpower advantage to make grinding advances, Ukraine has been scrambling specialists into the infantry in an effort to replenish losses. Criticized widely by soldiers and experts for a “wasteful” use of specialist troops that have spent
President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed the controversy surrounding the reassignment of Air Force personnel to the Ground Forces, in his evening address on Jan. 14.
Key developments on Jan. 14: * Ukraine targets Russia's industrial plants, ammunition depots in 'massive' strike overnight * Equipping troops takes priority over lowering draft age, Zelensky says * Ukraine denies transferring Air Force personnel to infantry amid troop shortages * Germany to deploy Patriot at Poland's key hub for Ukraine aid by end
The Ukrainian Air Force will transfer military personnel "en masse" to reinforce the Ground Forces' combat brigades in early 2025, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Jan. 14, citing an undisclosed Air Force source.
For the first time in the history of the F-16 Fighting Falcon, a Ukrainian-operated jet shot down six Russian cruise missiles during a single mission in December, the Air Force claimed on Jan. 7.
Russia used 43 drones against Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Dec. 30.
Ukraine's Air Force on Dec. 29 denied claims spread by Russian media about a Ukrainian pilot surrendering to Russian forces in Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian air defense intercepted 58 drones out of 132 launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported on its Telegram channel on Dec. 14.
Moscow deployed four Kinzhal air-launched missiles, two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, one Kh-23 North Korean ballistic missile, 55 Kh-101 and Kh-55SM cruise missiles launched from Tu-95MS bomber planes, 24 sea-launched Kalibr missiles, seven Iskander-K cruise missiles, and one Kh-59/69 missile, the Air Force said.
Ukrainian air defenses reportedly shot down 76 drones across 17 oblasts.
Russia attacked Ukraine with a hypersonic 3M22 Zirkon missile, seven air-launched Kinzhal missiles, 85 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles, one Iskander-M ballistic missile, four anti-radar Kh-22/31P missiles, five Kh-59/69 aerial guided missiles, and 90 drones.
Ukraine's Air Force said that beyond the 80 drones that were shot down across the country, another 44 were "lost."
Russia also attacked Ukraine with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and two Kh-59 cruise missiles, the Air Force said. The missiles targeted Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Odesa oblasts.
The planes "will be equipped with new equipment: air-to-ground combat capabilities and anti-electronic warfare defense," a French minister said.
Russia has stepped up drone attacks in recent weeks — for the first time since the full-scale invasion, they targeted cities and towns across Ukraine on a daily basis for an entire month in September.
The first cohort of Ukrainian pilots have completed Alpha Jet training in France, the French Armed Forces announced on Sept. 20.
The Danish government promised to transfer another batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of this year, the DR broadcaster reported on Sept. 15, citing Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen.
The training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16s has been happening at an accelerated pace. Ukraine's pilot training program is ongoing, but "the crash shows what happens when you try to rush things," an unnamed senior defense official told the WSJ.
"Friendly fire" from a Patriot missile battery is unlikely to have caused the downing of a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet, the New York Times reported on Aug. 31, citing two undisclosed senior U.S. military officials.
"I would probably say this is a rotation," said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. "This is two separate issues…at this stage, I would not connect them."
President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Aug. 30. The decision was announced on the Presidential Office’s official website.
Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said that Ukraine had "received a preliminary report" from the U.S., which he said "has already joined the investigation into the causes (of the crash)."
One of the F-16 fighter jets recently delivered to Ukraine crashed while repelling a Russian mass attack, Ukraine's General Staff said on Aug. 29.
Ukraine's Air Force announced on Aug. 29 that a pilot had been killed during Russia's mass attack on Aug. 26, shortly after the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that one of the recently delivered F-16 jets had been destroyed in a crash on the same day.
Ukraine's Air Force used F-16 jets as part of its defense against Russia's mass missile and drone attack on Aug. 26, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed during a press conference on Aug. 27.
(Updated: )
