Russia Selenskyj: Operational plans for F-16 finalized

The Ukrainian air force has drawn up its deployment plans for the F-16 fighter jets supplied by the West.

All tasks for the armed forces and the Ministry of Defense have been defined, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video address. In addition, possibilities for expanding the aircraft fleet and the further training of pilots had been discussed with the air force command.

Ukraine has received commitments from its European allies for around 60 American F-16 fighter jets, only a small number of which have been handed over so far. The USA only wanted to contribute weapons and equipment.

Consideration of better basic training

In view of the often heavy losses on the front lines, Ukraine is considering improving the basic training of new soldiers. Roman Kostenko, Secretary of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, spoke out in favor of longer basic training instead of the usual 40 days. Supreme Commander Olexander Syrskyj had also recently called for something similar. "There is hardly any shooting, hardly any practising with hand grenades," Kostenko complained about shortcomings in the training of recruits. Five months would be ideal for training young soldiers. However, in order to ensure good quality training, the instructors should also receive additional training.

Ukraine's population is shrinking

Ukraine's population is in sharp decline. In 1991, the year of independence from the former Soviet Union, Ukraine still had a population of 52 million, whereas most recently it was just under 35 million. Of these, around 4 million lived in the Russian-occupied territories, reported Ella Libanova from the Institute of Demography in Kiev. In addition to the 35 million, there are almost 4.2 million people who fled the war to EU countries. According to her institute's calculations, the total population of Ukraine is likely to shrink to just under 25 million by 2050.

Russian ammunition depots destroyed

According to its own account, the Ukrainian military destroyed several supply depots of the Russian armed forces in the occupied Ukrainian territories. According to the naval command in Kiev, reconnaissance aircraft had discovered the depots in the vicinity of the port city of Mariupol. These were then attacked with missiles and destroyed. According to the statement, tons of ammunition were destroyed in the process. The information could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian troops have often attacked Russian depots and command posts behind the front line, inflicting heavy losses on the occupying forces. Russia has been waging war against Ukraine for over two and a half years and has now occupied almost a fifth of the neighboring country.

Germany provides Ukraine with winter aid

In view of the ongoing Russian attacks on the infrastructure, Germany is providing Ukraine with an additional 100 million euros to get through the winter. Another Russian winter war is imminent, in which Moscow aims to "make the lives of the people in Ukraine as terrible as possible", warned Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) at the 5th support conference for the small Ukrainian neighboring republic of Moldova in the capital Chisinau. Half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been destroyed, said Baerbock.

SDA