Russia on October 23 launched another series of intense drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, even as Britain announced that it had completed the training of 200 Ukrainian pilots who will fly F-16 fighter jets provided by Kyiv's Western allies in order to beef up the protection of the embattled country's skies.
Ukraine's air defenses shot down 57 of the 81 drones launched by Russia at targets in 12 Ukrainian regions, the country's air force announced early on October 23. Another 15 drones were lost above Ukrainian territory, it said.
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The Russian drones were downed over the Odesa, Mykolayiv, Vinnytsya, Sumy, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskiy, Ternopil, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv regions, the air force said on Telegram, adding that Odesa was also targeted by a Russian guided missile launched from the Black Sea. It did not say whether the missile was downed.
Since the start of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, Russia has been regularly bombarding civilian and energy infrastructure all over Ukraine, causing numerous civilian casualties and substantial damage.
Kyiv has been desperately appealing to its Western allies for more modern air-defense systems and U.S.-made F-16s to strengthen the protection of its skies.
After a slow start, some Western countries agreed to provide a number of such warplanes to Ukraine while also training pilots to fly them. U.S. President Joe Biden green-lighted the deals last summer, although Washington will not provide any aircraft of its own.
British Deputy Defense Secretary Luke Pollard has announced that 200 Ukrainian pilots completed the training on October 22.
"Today I attended the graduation of the latest pilots from the RAF’s training program. These pilots will soon be flying Ukrainian F-16s. Britain will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes," Pollard wrote on X.
Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands have committed to providing Kyiv with more than 60 aircraft, and confirmation of the arrival of the first F-16s came in August from Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, after Bloomberg reported in July that Kyiv was to get six planes over the summer and up to 20 by the end of the year.
Faced with the daily Russian onslaught, Ukraine over the past several months has begun striking military targets inside Russia with its own homemade drones.
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On October 23, Russian air defenses downed 14 Ukrainian drones early on October 23, 10 of them over the occupied Crimea region, according to the Russian Defense Ministry, which added that four unmanned Ukrainian boats were also destroyed off the Crimean coast.
"The aviation of the Black Sea Fleet has eliminated four Ukrainian unmanned motorboats heading toward the Crimean Peninsula in the waters of the Black Sea," the ministry said on Telegram.
Separately, Rostov region Governor Vasily Golubev said air defenses in his region shot down four Ukrainian drones.
On October 22, three Russian alcohol distilleries were struck by Ukrainian drones, Ukraine's air force reported.