Key developments on Aug. 5:
- Russian Su-34 jet destroyed in Ukraine's strike on Morozovsk airfield, Kyiv says
- Explosions heard in Kyiv at 11 p.m. shortly after air alert sounds
- Ukraine seeks to create coalition to shoot down Russian missiles, Zelensky says
- UK soldiers warned Russia could be spying on training of Ukrainian troops
- SBU intercepts large-scale FSB saboteur network across Ukraine
- Machine factory caught fire after strike on Russian-occupied Luhansk, governor says
The Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber aircraft and an ammunition depot at the Morozovsk airfield in Russia's Rostov Oblast on Aug. 3, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said on Aug. 5, citing satellite imagery.
Prior to this, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed the attack on the Russian airfield, saying that an ammunition depot storing glide bombs was hit.
Two other Su-34 Russian aircraft were probably damaged by debris, according to the military intelligence agency.
The strike completely destroyed a Russian aviation weapons depot, HUR said. Published satellite photos show craters caused by explosions on the territory of the airfield, located 265 kilometers (165 miles) from the front line.
Four technical buildings and two hangars were also damaged, according to HUR.
The Morozovsk airbase has been previously targeted by Ukraine. An intelligence source told the Kyiv Independent in April that six warplanes stationed at the airfield had been destroyed in a Ukrainian attack.
Elsa Court
Explosions heard in Kyiv shortly after air alert sounds
At least four explosions were heard in Kyiv shortly after the air alert sounded at around 11 p.m. local time, Kyiv Independent journalists reported on Aug. 5.
The first explosion was heard in the city by Kyiv Independent reporters just minutes after the air alert first sounded.
More explosions were heard shortly after the Ukrainian Air Force warned that high-speed missiles were heading toward Kyiv Oblast.
Kyiv City Military Administration said that according to preliminary information, Russia used Iskander-M or North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles.
"As of this moment, no destruction has been recorded in Kyiv, and no information has been received about the victims," the administration said.
Elsa Court
Ukraine wants to create coalition to shoot down Russian missiles, Zelensky says
Kyiv will discuss with NATO the creation of a coalition of countries to help shoot down Russian missiles over Ukraine's territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists on Aug. 4.
Russian missiles or drones have entered the airspace of Poland and Romania on several occasions, and their debris has been found on the territories of the two NATO countries bordering Ukraine.
Warsaw and Bucharest have repeatedly scrambled fighter jets to protect their airspace as Russian forces launched large-scale aerial attacks on Ukraine, but the aircraft have never been used to destroy these targets.
"We must work on the technical possibility of using combat aircraft from neighboring countries against (Russian) missiles that hit Ukraine in the direction of our neighbors. Foremost, the countries of the alliance," Zelensky said.
Speaking to journalists, the president called such a move "a very big responsibility" that could be difficult for partners, but he tasked diplomats to organize a NATO-Ukraine Council meeting to discuss the issue.
"I want to try this tool so that NATO countries can discuss with Ukraine the possibility of such a small coalition of neighboring countries that will shoot down enemy missiles (over Ukraine)," he added.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said in mid-July that Warsaw was considering Kyiv's proposal to shoot down Russian missiles flying toward Polish territory while they are still in Ukraine's airspace. The proposal was included in a security agreement signed between the two nations.
The idea encountered strong opposition among other NATO members. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said downing Russian drones or missiles over Ukraine was "out of the question," while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg implied such a step would drag the alliance into the war.
Videos spread on social media two weeks ago purported to show Romanian air defenses downing Russian drones during their attack on Ukraine, but Bucharest has refuted the claims.
Elsa Court
UK soldiers warned Russia could be spying on training of Ukrainian troops
British soldiers have been warned Russia may be using spies and drones to obtain information about Ukrainian service members trained in the U.K., The Times reported on Aug. 5, citing a military handbook circulated among the troops.
This mirrors similar warnings elsewhere in Europe of Moscow spying on Western efforts to train Ukrainian soldiers.
According to the British military handbook, Russian intelligence has shown particular interest in Operation Interflex, the U.K.-led program providing training to some 34,000 Ukrainian recruits.
The methods of espionage may have included flying drones over military bases and Russian operatives approaching British trainers in person or online.
"Vulnerable locations include training areas, Aerial Port of Debarkation, Seaport Port of Debarkation and key accommodation and logistical sites," the handbook read.
Undisclosed defense sources told The Times that there is "little evidence" Russia has actually used drones to spy on British military facilities. The handbook is more likely aimed at warning U.K. personnel of possible risks, given recent instances of suspected spy drones watching the training of Ukrainian conscripts in Germany.
Back in January, German authorities admitted that unidentified drones sighted over military training grounds are a recurring problem, and none of them have been successfully intercepted so far.
A coalition of 34 countries helps train Ukrainian troops abroad as one way to support Kyiv against Russian aggression. The British-led multinational Operation Interflex is one of the leading projects, mainly designed to provide basic military training to new recruits at various training facilities.
Separately, the EU's EUMAM mission aims to train 60,000 Ukrainian troops by the end of the summer.
Dinara Khalilova
SBU intercepts large-scale FSB saboteur network across Ukraine
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Aug. 5 that it had intercepted a "large-scale" sabotage network organized by Russia's Federal Security Service, which was operating across at least six oblasts and involved two Ukrainian government officials.
According to the SBU, the network consisted of nine individuals who were simultaneously arrested in Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Donetsk, and Odesa oblasts.
One of those detained is a member of the Dnipro City Council and another is an official in the city council of Yuzhne, a town in Odesa Oblast.
The individuals in question are accused of scouting the locations of critical infrastructure and Ukrainian military positions and then sharing the details with their Russian handlers.
The suspects have been charged with treason and face life in prison if convicted, the SBU said.
Kateryna Hodunova
Machine factory caught fire after strike on Russian-occupied Luhansk, governor says
A purported Ukrainian strike against occupied Luhansk on Aug. 4 resulted in a fire in a factory used to repair and store Russian military equipment, said Governor Artem Lysohor.
The Factory 100 suffered damage as a result of the "poor work of (Russian) air defenses," Lysohor said, publishing photos of smoke rising over the facility.
Luhansk, a city occupied by Russia since 2014, has come under repeated strikes by Ukraine during the full-scale war.
Russian occupation authorities claimed that 12 Western missiles – presumably eight U.S.-made ATACMS and four British Storm Shadow missiles – were used in the attack.
"Four missiles were shot down by air defenses on approach to the city," Leonid Pasechnik, the Russian-installed proxy head in the oblast, said on Telegram.
While the fallen debris only resulted in "dry grass catching fire," warehouses with fuel tanks and residential areas were also hit in the attack, Pasechnik alleged.
The full consequences of the reported attack are being determined.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
