Victorious news of 771st day of war: Ukrainian pilots complete F-16 training, part of St. Petersburg is without electricity

Training of Ukrainian pilots on F-16 at the final stage

The presence of F-16 fighter jets in the Ukrainian sky should come as a surprise to Russia. Therefore, no further information about this should be disclosed, said Ilia Yevlash, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, on Radio Liberty.

At the same time, he noted that two groups of Ukrainian pilots are already at the final stage of training on the F-16.

"Two groups in Denmark and the United States are training on F-16s, honing their skills and practice. It takes hours to fly these aircraft. Of course, this is one of the final stages. We probably shouldn't disclose exactly when the transfer will take place and when we will see the F-16s, so that the enemy is surprised," said the spokesman.

The Yevlash also emphasized that having received F-16s, the Defense Forces will be able to shoot down not only Russian aircraft terrorizing the frontline and border areas with bombs, but also missiles used by the Russians to attack peaceful cities.

Power substation blown up in St. Petersburg

On the night of April 3, the Krasnogvardeysky district of St. Petersburg lost power. Unidentified persons blew up a power substation, leaving 12,000 people without electricity in the city and the region. This was reported by the Baza Telegram channel.

A woman called the emergency services and reported that she had heard what sounded like two loud explosions before the power outage. Police and special services officers arrived at the scene and found two damaged transformers with torn holes 10 and 20 centimeters in diameter. According to preliminary information, one of the transformers is beyond repair. Investigators opened a criminal case under the article "Sabotage".

Sabotage of electrical equipment began in the Leningrad region in May 2023. Then saboteurs blew up a power line pylon, causing a collapse. Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had attempted to attack the Leningrad power plant.

Also in February 2024, the FSB reported that a Ukrainian citizen was detained near a gas distribution station. In addition, saboteurs are massively attacking the railroad in the Leningrad region.

Russia cannot repair refineries due to sanctions

Sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies are preventing Russia from repairing refineries damaged by drone attacks. Reuters reported this with reference to its own sources.

The article says that on January 4, engineers of the Russian oil company Lukoil discovered a turbine malfunction at its Lukoil-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez refinery. There was only one company that knew how to repair the gasoline production unit. According to sources familiar with the incident, the problem was that the company was American.

"They (engineers) were scrambling to find spare parts and couldn't find anything. Then the entire unit just stopped," said a source close to Lukoil.

In addition, a catalytic cracker used to convert heavy hydrocarbons into gasoline has been out of production since January, and it is not known when it can be repaired due to a lack of expertise in Russia.

"As a result, NORSI, Russia's fourth-largest refinery, cut gasoline production by 40%," the source said.

Germany initiates search for Patriots for Ukraine

Germany will be looking for Patriot air defense systems to be transferred to Ukraine. This was stated by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. 

The foreign minister noted that Germany, as the chairman of the air defense coalition operating within the framework of the Ramstein, “immediately initiates an analysis of all available systems, batteries, Patriot and other air defense systems, not only among allies but also in the world.”

"And what can be done, what combinations can be built to ensure that these batteries are delivered to Ukraine," the minister added.

Kuleba noted that he has already identified partners who have air defense systems.

"And I asked them not to look for excuses why it is impossible to deliver them, but just to take them and deliver them. And now we will work on this issue," he said.

At the same time, the diplomat refused to specify which air defense systems and in which countries they were talking about.

On April 3, Kuleba said that the state should receive all the Patriot batteries available in the world that can be provided to Ukraine as soon as possible.