Russia Claims to Have Shot Down 42 Ukrainian Drones

Russia said early Friday that it has downed dozens of drones launched from Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 42 drones were destroyed over Crimea – nine shot down by air defense forces, 33 by electronic warfare. Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.

There were no immediate reports of fatalities.

The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday that it will train Ukrainians to fly and maintain F-16 fighter jets.

The Defense Department said in a statement that the training will be held at Morris Air National Guard Base in Tucson, Arizona, and will be facilitated by the Air National Guard’s 162nd Wing.

The U.S. training is “in support of the international effort to develop and strengthen Ukraine’s long-term defenses,” Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.

The training will begin in October, after the Ukrainians complete an English-language course set to begin in September.

Meanwhile, Norway is donating F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

The exact number of the donated jets was not immediately clear, but Gahr Stoere said that it would probably be fewer than 10.

Norway is the third European country, after the Netherlands and Denmark, to announce donations of fighter jets to Ukraine for use in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.

Also Thursday, the U.S. announced sanctions on 11 individuals and two entities involved with the deportation and indoctrination of Ukrainian children.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the sanctions were imposed “for their roles in the forcible transfer and deportation of Ukraine’s children to camps promoting indoctrination in Russia and Russia-occupied Crimea and who have imposed Russian indoctrination curriculums in those regions of Ukraine.”

Speaking at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Ukraine Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “The United States will not stand by as Russia carries out these war crimes and crimes against humanity.”

Ukraine believes more than 19,500 children have been deported since Russia’s invasion.

Thursday also marked Ukraine’s Independence Day.

“Today we are all celebrating the 32nd anniversary of Ukraine’s independence. Thirty-two years of uninterrupted independence, which will endure. Which we will not allow to be torn apart. And which Ukrainians will not lose grip on,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address.
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