Victorious news of 539th day of war: liberation of Urozhaine, elimination of invading soldiers with partisans’ help

Ukrainian pilots will be trained on F-16 fighter jets in Romania

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis has confirmed that the country will train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets: a regional training center will be opened there.

According to him, the training center will train not only Ukrainian pilots but also pilots from NATO member states.

"We will participate in the training of the Ukrainian military within the framework of the European Union's military assistance mission and will host the future regional training center for F-16 pilots, which will serve both Romanian and Ukrainian pilots, as well as pilots from NATO member states," he said. 

The president emphasized that Romania will continue to provide the necessary support to Ukraine "in its struggle for peace and freedom." In particular, the country will coordinate efforts within the EU to overcome the consequences of the Russian invasion and advocate for continued assistance to Ukraine.

Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate Urozhaine, Donetsk region

Ukrainian Armed Forces have completely liberated Urozhaine village in the Donetsk region. Soldiers consolidate their positions. This was reported by Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar on August 16.

"The soldiers of the 35th Detached Marine Brigade named after Rear Admiral Mykhailo Ostrohradsky, together with their comrades, have liberated village of Urozhaine in the Donetsk region as part of counteroffensive operations," the soldiers of the 35th Brigade wrote on their page. 

Five of the six large landing ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet have been disabled

Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have rendered 5 out of 6 major landing ships in its fleet inoperable. This was reported by LIGA.net, citing the Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk.

The first to be sunk was the Saratov large landing ship in the port of the temporarily occupied Berdyansk - the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked it on March 24, 2022. Simultaneously, the landing ships Caesar Kunikov and Novocherkassk were both damaged, and a fire erupted on those vessels.

The Olenegorsky Gornyak, which was hit by a marine drone in the port of Novorossiysk on August 4, became the 4th vessel to be disabled by the Ukrainian forces. It is currently undergoing repairs. Pletenchuk has not yet named the 5h target.

EUR 135 million from the European Commission, which were supposed to go to Russia and Belarus, will go to Ukraine and Moldova

The European Commission will allocate EUR 135 million to Ukraine and Moldova for programs to strengthen international cooperation, which were originally intended for Russia and Belarus. This is stated on the European Commission's website.

In 2021-2027, Russia and Belarus were to be allocated funds under the Neighborhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument within the Interreg NEXT program. Now these funds will be used to implement similar projects in Ukraine and Moldova.

After the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine and EU sanctions, Russia and Belarus were excluded from the program and their cooperation was suspended. This led to the reallocation of EUR 26 million to support cooperation programs with Ukraine and Moldova. This decision similarly reallocates the remaining funding for the period 2021-2027.

A group of Russian soldiers eliminated during a training drills with the help of partisans in the temporarily occupied territories

Thanks to information provided by partisans, dozens of soldiers, Russian equipment, and a military facility were destroyed in the temporarily occupied territory. This was reported by the National Resistance Center.

"The Ukrainian army carried out targeted attacks on enemy units that decided to conduct exercises on the occupied Ukrainian lands. Losses among the personnel of the Russian occupying forces are being clarified," the National Resistance Center reports.