- Home
- Ukrainian...
Ukrainian air base under fire as Russia aims at F-16 arrivals
By Dan Peleschuk
STAROKOSTIANTYNIV, Ukraine (Reuters) - Explosions reverberated across the pre-dawn sky as Ukrainian air defences fended off a Russian attack on this small city in western Ukraine, home to an important air base and a frequent target of Moscow's strikes.
Hours after the assault, the tidy streets of Starokostiantyniv had returned to a semblance of normality.
But the June 27 attack was a stark reminder of the challenges Kyiv faces as it rebuilds its depleted air force and deploys the first U.S.-designed F-16s - fighter aircraft that Russia will be determined to ground or destroy.
The first planes are expected to arrive this month, and Ukraine hopes they will boost forces struggling to repel a Russian onslaught along the front line, which includes devastating glide bombs that F-16s could potentially disrupt.
Officials have not revealed where the F-16s will be based, but Moscow said after the strike on Starokostiantyniv last Thursday that it had targeted airfields it believed would house them.
The air base has come under frequent attack since the first days of Russia's February 2022 invasion, including from drones and hypersonic missiles.
Residents of this historic military outpost of around 30,000 people, nicknamed Starkon, in Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi region have learned to adjust to the constant danger.
"In short, it's 'fun' to live here," said city official and local culture expert Vasyl Muliar with a wry smile, speaking after the recent attack.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman said the strikes presented "certain difficulties", but would not undermine the delivery of F-16s or their use in battle.
Officials are tight-lipped about details of attacks on objects such a military bases and critical infrastructure.
Military analysts said the Russians were probably targeting air base infrastructure such as runways and storage facilities to make getting F-16s airborne more difficult, and, when they arrive, the Western jets themselves.
The Ukrainian military, which is low on air-defence ammunition, is also likely to be forced to move the prized planes around airfields, said Justin Bronk, of the Royal United Services Institute.
"Any ground-based air defence coverage can be saturated if the Russians care enough to fire enough missiles at one target," he said.
DEBRIS IN CHERRY TREES
After last Thursday's attack, Governor Serhiy Tyurin said air defences had destroyed nine targets over his region. Shortly before it, the air force had warned residents that drones were headed toward Starokostiantyniv.
Local residents, careful not to divulge what might be considered sensitive military information, described living under the threat of being struck and amid the frequent roar of Ukrainian warplanes in the skies above.
Iryna Sapchuk, editor-in-chief of local newspaper Our City, said her parents' home had been hit in a previous raid, damaging the roof and shed.
"They found debris from a missile in a cherry tree by the window," she added.
As in many other towns and cities across Ukraine, people appeared eager to project a sense of resilience despite the danger of war and inconvenience of frequent power outages caused by Russian attacks on the energy system.
Road works continued as jets streaked overhead, while families and groups of teenagers cooled off at the local beach.
When she travels around Ukraine, Sapchuk said, she found it hard to cope without the noise of airplanes.
"It's too quiet for me," she joked, adding that the sound had become a comforting sign that Ukraine's outnumbered pilots were putting up a fight.
Muliar, the local official, pointed to the city's history as a 16th-century bastion of defence and, hundreds of years later, key nerve center for independence fighters of the fledgling Ukrainian People's Republic after World War One.
"This was always a centre of resistance."
(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk; Additional reporting by Anastasiia Malenko; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Timothy Heritage)
- https://www.msn.com/en-sg/news/world/ukrainian-air-base-under-fire-as-russia-aims-at-f-16-arrivals/ar-BB1pfsxw?ocid=00000000
Related
13,000 Are Ordered to Evacuate as Wildfire Spreads in Northern California
The authorities in Northern California ordered about 13,000 people in Butte County to evacuate on Tuesday night as a wildfire spread, burning more than 3,000 acres as of Wednesday morning. California’s firefighting agency, Cal Fire, said that the fire began on Tuesday morning and that its cause was under investigation. It was not clear how many structures had been damaged by the blaze, called the Thompson fire, but photos showed several homes...
NewsRare earths found in Sweden: a game-changer?
The largest deposits of rare earths in Europe have been found in Sweden – by chance in the world’s biggest underground iron ore mine. Could the discovery boost Europe’s self-sufficiency in raw materials?
NewsArchaeologists excavate haunting 'City of the Dead' packed with hundreds of tombs
An excavation of a necropolis in Aswan, Egypt, has revealed hundreds of tombs and precious artifacts. The University of Milan says that there are between 300 and 400 tombs.
NewsSudden boulder removal leaves locals baffled
The stones, in place for a decade, are now a focus for anti-social behaviour, a council says.
NewsGaza ceasefire effort shows signs of revival as Israel pounds enclave
By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Mohammad Salem and Maayan Lubell CAIRO/GAZA/JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Signs of renewed activity emerged on Wednesday in the quest for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas in the nine-month-old war in the Gaza Strip while Israel launched more strikes on the devastated enclave. After weeks with little public diplomacy, mediators Egypt and Qatar delivered a response from
News101-year-old steam engine returns home after sale
The locomotive was taken 225 miles to Exminster, in Devon, before returning to the railway in Kent.
NewsHezbollah launches barrage of rockets at Israel after top commander killed
Muhammad Nimah Nasser is third top commander killed in cross-border fighting, which has increased in recent weeks.
NewsCalifornia Legislature likely to ask voters to borrow $20 billion for climate, schools
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Mired in a stream of multi-billion dollar budget deficits, the California Legislature on Wednesday will likely turn to voters for help. Lawmakers are set to vote on whether to place a pair of $10 billion bonds on the November ballot. If approved by voters, the money would pay for the building of new schools and help communities prepare for the impacts of climate change. California was swimming in money just a few years...
News