Key developments on Aug. 3-4:
- Zelensky confirms F-16s already being used by Ukrainian Air Force
- Ukraine's military says it sunk Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine, damaged S-400 missile system in 'successful hit'
- Ukraine hit Morozovsk airfield, oil depots in Russia overnight, General Staff confirms
- Military: Egyptians recruited by Russia fight in Kharkiv Oblast
- Ombudsman appeals to UN, Red Cross over alleged execution of Ukrainian POW by Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Aug. 4 that the first batch of F-16s had arrived in Ukraine and that the jets are already being used by Ukrainian pilots.
"I am proud of all our guys who master these planes and have already started using them for our state," Zelensky captioned a post on social media that showed the planes in an undisclosed location in Ukraine.
Zelensky gave a speech and presented state awards on the occasion of Ukrainian Air Force Day, which is marked annually on Aug. 4.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine "held hundreds of meetings and negotiations" since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion to strengthen its air force.
While Kyiv often heard the word "impossible" in response to its requests from partners, "we have made possible what was our ambition," Zelensky said. "Now it is indeed a reality, a reality in our sky. F-16s in Ukraine."
"I thank all the partners who are really helping with the F-16 and the first countries that accepted our request for aircraft - Denmark, the Netherlands, the United States."
The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American air superiority fighter that Kyiv has requested from its partners since the start of the full-scale invasion.
Kyiv finally received a number of F-16s a year after the launch of the Danish-Dutch-led "fighter jet coalition" at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023.
Kyiv has been promised at least 79 F-16s from the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Belgium.
The Times reported on Aug. 1 that the first batch of planes included six jets provided by the Netherlands, while The Economist reported on Aug. 4 that Ukraine received 10 F-16 jets at the end of July.
Daria Shulzhenko
Ukraine's military says it sunk Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine, damaged S-400 missile system in 'successful hit'
Ukraine's military said on Aug. 3 that a Ukrainian missile strike the day before sunk a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine and damaged a S-400 air defense system in Russian-occupied Crimea.
In a statement on Telegram, the military said that the Ukrainian strike had "significantly damaged" four launchers of Russia's modern S-400 Triumph air defense system.
The military named the Kilo-class submarine Rostov-on-Don as the submarine that it says sunk in the port of Sevastopol.
"As a result of the hit, the boat sank on the spot," the General Staff said in the statement.
The military said that the submarine, capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles, had sustained "significant damage" in an earlier September missile attack but it had been repaired. The estimated value of the submarine is $300 million, according to the military.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify Ukraine's claims.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not reacted to Ukraine's claims over the reported strike.
A day before on Aug. 2, residents in Crimea reported hearing multiple blasts in Sevastopol, Simferopol, and Yevpatoria in the occupied peninsula, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported.
Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, leaving around 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is lost or disabled, according to the Ukrainian military.
Successful Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea forced Moscow to pull out much of its naval forces from the peninsula to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk, which has become a key port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Daria Shulzhenko
Ukraine hit Morozovsk airfield, oil depots in Russia overnight, General Staff confirms
Ukrainian forces attacked the Morozovsk airfield in Russia's Rostov Oblast, successfully hitting its ammunition depot storing glide bombs, among other weapons, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed on Aug. 3.
Information about the destruction of Russian aircraft and air defense systems is still being clarified, the General Staff said.
Ukraine also struck oil depots and warehouses in Belgorod, Rostov, and Kursk oblasts overnight, according to the report.
The Russian Defense Ministry earlier in the day claimed that Russian air defense systems had intercepted 75 drones overnight over Rostov, Kursk, Belgorod, Orel, Ryazan, and Voronezh oblasts, as well as over the Azov Sea and Krasnodar Krai.
Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said drones attacked an oil depot in Belgorod Oblast, while in Rostov Oblast, explosions were recorded near the Morozovsk airfield and an oil depot.
Ukrainian forces regularly conduct drone strikes and sabotage acts on Russian territory, targeting military assets, oil refineries, and industrial facilities, aiming to undermine Russia's war machine and the sources of its funding.
The Security Service of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) carried out the overnight attacks on Aug. 3, according to the General Staff.
At least two oil tanks were successfully hit overnight and subsequently caught fire.
An oil and fuel warehouse at the Atlas plant near the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky in Russia’s Rostov Oblast was struck by Ukrainian drones, a source in the Ukrainian military intelligence, told the Kyiv Independent.
This warehouse supplies military units and subdivisions of the Russian army stationed in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, according to the source. The facility was attacked using 15 Obsidian drones.
Another source in law enforcement told the Kyiv Independent that the Gubinsky oil depot in Belgorod Oblast also came under the attack.
The Morozovsk airbase has been previously targeted by Ukraine. A source in intelligence agencies told the Kyiv Independent in April that six warplanes stationed at the airfield had been destroyed in a Ukrainian attack.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
Military: Egyptians recruited by Russia fight in Kharkiv Oblast
Russia has been deploying foreign volunteers, namely residents of Egypt, to fight in its war against Ukraine in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine’s Operational Tactical Group "Kharkiv" reported on Aug. 4.
"In Vovchansk, the enemy has intensified aerial reconnaissance with drones and is moving personnel," the military wrote.
"The enemy is recruiting foreign volunteers, in particular, Egyptian citizens, to conduct hostilities."
Russia is known to have targeted men from countries including Cuba, Kazakhstan, Somalia, and Nepal to fight in its army.
Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War earlier reported that Russia is increasingly involving foreign mercenaries from countries with a "difficult economic situation" in its war in Ukraine.
In late June, a captured Nepali POW told Ukrainian authorities on video obtained exclusively by the Kyiv Independent that over 3,000 Nepalis may have joined the Russian army.
Kateryna Denisova
Ombudsman appeals to UN, Red Cross over alleged execution of Ukrainian POW by Russia
Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced on Aug. 3 that he had appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the United Nations in response to a photo that allegedly shows the body of a Ukrainian prisoner of war executed by Russia.
The photo, which is circulating on social media, shows the body of a person with his head and limbs cut off. It is unknown when the photo was taken. The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify it.
Reports of Ukrainian POWs being tortured or killed while in Russian captivity have been surfacing since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. As of June, the Prosecutor General's Office said 28 criminal investigations were underway regarding the execution of 62 Ukrainian POWs.
"This is not just a violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, this is the behavior of monsters," Lubinets said.
The ombudsman asked international organizations to record another human rights violation by Russia and called on Ukraine's law enforcement to verify the identity of the killed person and the fact of the crime.
"POWs are in the hands of a hostile state, and the latter that is responsible for their treatment. Therefore, the responsibility for killing and mutilation lies not only with Russian soldiers, but with the Russian Federation," Lubinets added.
As of March 2024, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes. The prosecutors said they are investigating cases of at least 54 Ukrainian POWs being executed by Russia.
Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin said on June 18 that Russian commanders had given orders "not to capture Ukrainian servicemen, but instead to kill them with inhuman cruelty." He made the statement after revealing footage of a Ukrainian soldier beheaded by Russian troops.
