Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy (C) and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (R) in front of an F-16 fighter jet in Eindhoven, Netherlands, August 20, 2023

Sunday’s Coverage: Russian Political Prisoner Kara-Murza Hospitalized

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1616 GMT:

Russia’s missiles have caused casualties in a second hospital in Kyiv.

At least four civilians were killed and three injured when the Isida maternity hospital was hit by falling debris.

The Okhmatdyt children’s hospital is being evacuated after power, oxygen, and water supplies were lost. At least 16 people, including seven children, were wounded.

Ukraine Health Minister Viktor Lyashko said of the movement of children to other hospitals:

The most important thing today is not to panic but help save as many lives as possible.

It’s an awful act of terror, and I get tearful seeing how many people have come to help us clean up.

Three surgeries were being performed at the time of the Russian attack.

UPDATE 1608 GMT:

Standing alongside Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said of Russia’s mass killing of civilians this morning with missile strikes:

I would also like to hear from our partners [about] a greater resilience and a strong response to the blow that Russia has once again dealt to our people, to our land, to our children.

We will retaliate against these people, we will deliver a powerful response from our side to Russia, for sure. The question to our partners is: can they respond?

Zelenskiy pressed for permission to strike Russian launch sites with weapons supplied by international supporters: “We would really like to receive such decision from our partners. Or they would like to see the strikes again.”

Zelenskiy and Tusk signed a bilateral security agreement — Ukraine’s 17th with European countries, the US, Canada, and Japan — for political, military, and economic cooperation, including “the reconstruction of Ukraine as a sovereign and democratic state”.

UPDATE 1306 GMT:

The UN has condemned Moscow’s latest mass killing of Ukrainian civilians.

“The week in Ukraine has started with another wave of deadly strikes by the Russian armed forces,” said Denise Brown, humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine. “It is unconscionable that children are killed and injured in this war. Under international humanitarian law, hospitals have special protection. Civilians must be protected.”

The International Rescue Committee’s health coordinator in Ukraine, Dr Marko Isajlovic, said:

No child should grow up under the threat of missile strikes. No child should risk dying amidst the rubble of hospitals meant to be safe havens for healing and recovery. Health facilities are protected under international law and must remain out of harm’s way in times of conflict.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the [World Health Organization] has recorded nearly 1,700 attacks on healthcare facilities in Ukraine. Our medical teams witness the daily toll of fighting on people who are unable to seek much needed care in hospitals reduced to rubble, reach the nearest pharmacy due to ongoing fighting, or simply afford much-needed medicines.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani tweeted:

UPDATE 1255 GMT:

The death toll has risen to 29 from Russia’s missile strikes across Ukraine.

At least 14 civilians were killed and 38 injured in Kyiv. Eleven people were slain and more than 40 wounded in Kryvyi Rih; three killed in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine; and one in Dnipro city.

The Ukraine Air Force said Russia launched 38 missiles, with 30 of them intercepted.

The Russian Defense Ministry said, “This morning, in response to attempts by the Kyiv regime to damage Russian energy and economic facilities, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out a group strike with long-range precision weapons against Ukrainian military industry facilities and AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine) airbases”.

The Ministry did not explain how a children’s hospital, high-rise apartment blocks, and commerical enterprises were “military industry facilities”.

UPDATE 1025 GMT:

Three electricity substations and electricity networks in Kyiv were damaged in Russian missile strikes this morning, says Ukraine’s largest private energy producer DTEK.

UPDATE 0954 GMT:

The death toll is now at least 20 from this morning’s Russian missile strikes: seven in Kyiv, with at least 25 injured: 10 in Kryvyi Rih, with 41 wounded; and 3 in Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

UPDATE 0943 GMT:

At least three people have been killed this morning in a Russian strike on Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian Defense Ministry said, “In response to attempts by the Kyiv regime to damage Russian energy and economic facilities, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out a group strike with long-range precision weapons against Ukrainian military industry facilities and AFU airbases.”

The Ministry did not explain how a children’s hospital, high-rise apartment blocks, and commercial enterprises are “military industry facilities”.

UPDATE 0938 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has updated on the Russian strikes on Kyiv and across the country.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko says patients of the children’s hospital are “being evacuated to the municipal hospital of the city”.

UPDATE 0929 GMT:

The death toll has risen to seven from Russia’s morning strikes on seven districts of Kyiv.

UPDATE 0925 GMT:

Ukraine Presidential Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak has posted about the Russian strikes on Kyiv:

UPDATE 0902 GMT:

At least five civilians have been killed and nine injured in Russia’s daytime strikes on Kyiv.

In Dnipro, civilians have been injured, a high-rise building damaged, and an enterprise and service station hit. Explosions were heard around 10:45 a.m.

Fatalities are reported, with 31 people injured, in Kryvyi Rih.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported the firing of more than 40 missiles on cities, hitting a children’s hospital in Kyiv and damaging residential buildings and infrastructure across the country.

The Ukraine Air Force says the attack on Kyiv included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of Russia’s most advanced weapons.

Launched from a MiG fighter jet, the Kinzhal can fly at up to 10 times the speed of sound and can maneuver to avoid tracking and interception.

UPDAATE 0844 GMT:

Ukraine’s air defenses have tried to repel a daytime Russian missile attack on Kyiv.

Up to 10 explosions were heard across the city, notably in the area of Taras Shevchenko Park. Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents to stay in shelters.

UPDATE 0822 GMT:

Hosting Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping has declared:

The international community should create conditions and provide assistance for the two sides to resume direct dialogue and negotiations. Only when all major powers exert positive energy rather than negative energy can the dawn of a ceasefire in this conflict appear as soon as possible.

Seeking to be a broker of “peace talks”, as Hungary holds the rotating six-month Presidency of the European Union, Orbán — a long-time ally of Vladimir Putin — held talks with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv on July 2 and with Putin in Moscow on Friday.

More than 90 countries backed Ukraine’s sovereignty at the first Global Peace Summit in mid-June, but China is promoting a six-point “peace plan” that it issued with Brazil in May.

UPDATE 0734 GMT:

An investigation by multiple outlets concludes that the European Union has exaggerated its capacity for the vital provision of 155 mm artillery ammunition to Ukraine.

Schemes, the investigative unit of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service, and other outlets spent months examining EU shell production. They assess that it may be fewer than 50% of the public estimates by senior EU officials.

With Russia using a 7:1 advantage in shells to press its offensive in eastern Ukraine, the EU had pledged 1 million rounds to Ukraine by March 2024. Early this year, EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell admitted that no more than half that amount would be sent.

The EU has subsequently launched an initiative, led by the Czech Republic, to obtain hundreds of thousands of shells for Kyiv.

In In March, the European Commission said annual production capacity for 155 mm shells had reached 1 million. In June, Thierry Breton, the European commissioner for the internal market, said EU producers would reach capacity of 1.7 million 155 mm shells by the end of 2024.

But a “high-ranking European arms industry source” said current capacity is only around 1/3 of the declared amount.

It’s a very bad idea to convince ourselves that we have three times the actual production capacity and make decisions based on that. Then suddenly to find out that nothing is coming out of the factories and you cannot supply Ukraine and the NATO alliance.

Two other high-level officials, one in an EU country and one in Ukraine, put the capacity of European 155 mm ammunition production at just over 500,000 rounds per year.

A “well-informed artillery industry source from Slovakia” echoed, “Declarations of the EU leaders regarding the 155 mm production capacity that is to be reached by the end of this year are not reasonable. Production increases across Europe are lagging behind.”

Two documents estimating annual capacity put it at not much higher than half a million. German arms maker Rheinmetall’s January 2024 estimate cites aroudnd 550,000 shells per year.

Arms companies point to a global shortage of gunpowder and explosives and a lack of cash to fuel the ammunition industry, with governments reluctant to sign long-term contracts.

Ukraine Defense Minister Rustem Umerov says the resistance of Russia’s invasion needs 200,000 shells a month.

>p>Ukraine is purchasing some ammunition on its own and plans to start mass production of 155 mm shells in the second half of 2024 However, Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin said that Ukraine’s efforts will always be insufficient: “We will never be able to produce as much ammunition as our armed forces need now.”

UPDATE 0640 GMT:

At least two civilians were killed and at least 14 injured, including a 10-year-old boy, by Russian attacks across Ukraine on Sunday.

The two fatalities were in the Donetsk region in Pivnichne and Hrodivka. Four people were injured.

The boy and three women aged 41, 64, and 81 were wounded by the Russian assault on the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine. Apartment buildings, houses, and farm buildings were damaged

Nikopol is across the Dnipro River from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which has been converted into a military base.

Two women aged 50 and 75 were injured by falling debris from Russian shells in the Kharkiv region in northeast Ukraine. A 48-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman were hospitalized after a Russian attack on the village of Bohuslavka.

Two civilians were injured in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. High-rise buildings, houses, a shop, a gas pipeline, an administration building, farm buildings, and a warehouse were damaged.

Ukrainian air defense downed three of four Kh-101 cruise missiles launched by Russia from Tu-95MS bomber planes. The Russians also attacked with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles.

UPDATE 0633 GMT:

Two days after taking office, the UK’s Labour Government has announced a mililtary aid package for Ukraine.

Defense Minister John Healey visited the port of Odesa on Sunday. He announced 250,000 rounds of ammunition; 90 anti-armor missiles; 50 small military boats; 40 de-mining vehicles; 10 AS-90 artillery guns and spare parts for others; and 61 bulldozers.

“There may have been a change in government, but the UK is united for Ukraine,” Healey said.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine will soon receive its first US-made F-16 fighter jets, 28 1/2 months after Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion.

The Netherlands is sending F-16s after the grant of export licenses, Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on Saturday as he and Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans visited Kyiv.

“Now that we’ve got clearance on the first F-16s, they will be delivered without delay,” he declared in a press conference.

The Dutch Government, which has pledged 24 F-16s, notified Parliament last Monday that the necessary permits had been granted.

Veldkamp and Brekelmans also confirmed the provision of an additional Patriot air defense system and $2.1 million for forensic investigations of war crimes.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly emphasized that the F-16s, as well as bolstered air defenses and strikes on Russian launch sites, are “truly necessary…for the protection of lives” during Moscow’s airstrikes on energy infrastructure and other civilian areas.

Ukraine’s international supporters announced an 11-nation coalition in July 2023 for the provision of F-16s and the training of Ukrainian pilots. The Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and Norway have pledged a total of more than 70 of the fighter jets.

See also EA on Poland’s TVP World: Will F-16s for Ukraine Make A Difference?