First F-16 jets from Nato allies finally arrive; Kyiv hit by massive drone attack

Ukraine’s capital was the target of the most extensive Russian drone attack so far this year, lasting nearly the whole night, the municipal military administration said.

President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to double a bonus for people willing to join Russia’s war in Ukraine, offering fresh evidence that the military was struggling to meet recruitment targets. 

Ukraine receives first F-16 fighter jets after long wait

The first delivery of F-16 fighter jets from Nato allies has arrived in Ukraine, in a long-awaited move that may boost the war-torn nation’s ability to repel Russian attacks.

The deadline for the transfer of the US-made warplanes was the end of this month and it had been respected, according to people familiar with the matter, who spoke under condition of anonymity. The number of jets was small, they said.

It’s not clear whether Ukrainian pilots, who have trained with their Western allies over the past months, will be able to immediately use the warplanes or the process will take longer, the people said.

Even if small at first, the transfer of jets should over time help Kyiv build the capacity to put a dent in Russia’s aerial superiority, which has allowed the Kremlin to decimate the country’s power infrastructure, leading to rolling blackouts.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s defence ministry, Diana Davityan, declined to comment.

It took more than a year to get here. President Joe Biden dropped his opposition to sending F-16s to Ukraine in May 2023, after repeated pleas by President Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato allies to allow their transfer.

That came alongside intense debate as to whether F-16s would give Ukraine any decisive advantage. Veteran pilots told Bloomberg last May that the jets wouldn’t be the game-changer Ukraine claims.

The move has been bedevilled by delays, questions around spare parts and a language barrier between Ukrainian pilots and their foreign trainers. Planners have also worried that the country doesn’t have enough runways — and those it does have are vulnerable to Russian attacks.

So far, Ukrainian pilots have trained with F-16s abroad including in the US. In the meantime, the battlefield has changed, with both sides increasingly relying on cheap drones and Russia bolstering its air defences.

Denmark and the Netherlands are supplying the planes, with Belgium and Norway also pledging jets. Jake Sullivan, Biden’s top national security adviser, has said the F-16s are expected to defend frontline forces in the short term and help retake territory “down the road”.

Kyiv suffers biggest overnight drone attack this year

Ukraine’s capital was the target of the most extensive Russian drone attack so far this year, lasting nearly the whole night, the municipal military administration said.

Air defence intercepted all 89 Shahed drones, which were launched overnight in two waves and directed mainly at the Kyiv region, Ukrainian Air Force Chief Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram.

The barrage caused no damage in Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the military administration said on Telegram. In the Kyiv region, debris from intercepted drones caused damage to 13 private homes, the head of the regional military administration Ruslan Kravchenko said in a Telegram post. Most of the debris fell on the ground outside residential areas.

Ukraine has suffered rolling blackouts since April after the Kremlin started another intense round of missile and drone attacks targeting the power infrastructure, starting around the New Year holiday.

The government says that the electricity shortages it expects in the coming winter will be manageable unless more damage is caused by further Russian attacks.

Putin doubles army recruitment bonus as Russian war losses mount

President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to double a bonus for people willing to join Russia’s war in Ukraine, offering fresh evidence that the military was struggling to meet recruitment targets.

New recruits to the army will receive a one-time payment of 400,000 roubles (around $4,600) until the end of the year, according to a presidential order published on Wednesday. Putin also called on regional authorities to match the federal government payment, which was previously set at 195,000 roubles.

Read more: Moscow offers record $22,000 for Russians to fight in Ukraine

Russia’s military has incurred huge casualties since Putin ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with Western estimates putting the numbers killed or wounded at as high as 500,000. An accelerating pay race among Russia’s regions to persuade people to join up has added to labour shortages in the overheating economy, prompting businesses to hike salaries to compete.

Indonesia’s president-elect hails friendship at Putin meeting

Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto, who last year unsuccessfully pushed a peace proposal that would have left Russia occupying parts of Ukraine, pledged to deepen ties at talks with Putin in Moscow.

“We consider Russia as a real friend,” Prabowo, a former general who is currently defence minister, said on Wednesday in televised remarks. “I would like to continue to maintain and enhance” the close relationship between the two countries, he said.

The visit is the latest sign of Putin’s success in countering the isolation that the US and its allies have sought to impose in response to Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Moscow earlier this month to meet with Putin, who has courted so-called Global South nations as a counterweight to the US-led world order.

Read more: Putin is meeting a lot of world leaders for a global ‘outcast’

Prabowo also met with Russian Defence Minister Andrey Belousov. The visit was intended to “strengthen bilateral relations between Indonesia and Russia and enhance cooperation, especially in the defence sector”, said the defence ministry in Jakarta.

Both Putin and Prabowo noted historically close ties since the Soviet Union built up relations with the Southeast Asian country early in the Cold War, though Indonesia later tilted to the US. “Indonesia and Russia have had friendly relations for decades,” said Putin.

China expands military drone export curbs after Ukrainian visit

China has adjusted its export controls on drones intended for military use, as Beijing faces growing criticism from the US and its allies over bolstering Russia’s battlefield efforts in Ukraine.

Drones with high-precision measurement equipment were added to a blacklist by a range of agencies including the Central Military Commission on Wednesday. The changes modify a list published last year and will take effect from 1 September.

While officials removed export bans on consumer-grade drones, the Ministry of Commerce reiterated its stance that civilian equipment should not be used for the “proliferation of mass destruction weapons, terrorism or military purposes”.

Read more: China seizes chance to play peacemaker in Ukraine before US vote

President Xi Jinping’s government rolled out the directive days after Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba visited China for the first time since Russia invaded his nation in 2022. Beijing has repeatedly pushed back against criticisms from the West that it is sending Moscow dual-use items that have military applications. DM