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Russian shelling severely damaged a landmark, 18-century Ukraine church Thursday, minutes before a second round of shelling wounded first responders rushing to the scene to douse the flames.
The attack came the same day Ukraine announced that its fighter pilots would begin F-16 training this month, hoping the superior jets would aid the defense of cities. Russia’s latest attack targeted the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, where a bus was also hit and three passengers and a bystander were wounded, officials said.
The extent of damage to the cathedral was not immediately known.
“During the extinguishing of the fire caused by shelling in St. Catherine’s Cathedral, another shelling took place,” the Ukraine Interior Ministry wrote on Telegram. “Four employees of the State Emergency Service were injured. All of them are hospitalized.”
Two days earlier, a physician was killed and five people were wounded when Russia bombed a Kherson hospital. And a missile strike in Odesa last week severely damaged the historic Transfiguration Cathedral, which traces its roots to 1794.
“We are doing our best with our partners to increase the supply of air defense systems,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Twitter. “It is very important for the world not to get used to this Russian terror.”
Russia may be ponderingreturn to grain deal, US envoy says: Live Ukraine updates
Developments:
∎The European Commission tightened sanctions on Belarus to ensure Russia can’t circumvent EU sanctions through their neighbor and close ally.
∎ All 15 attack drones targeting Kyiv were shot down Thursday and no injuries or damage was reported, the Ukraine Defense Ministry said.
∎Zelenskyy met with wounded soldiers in the western Ukraine city of Ivano-Frankivsk. “The warriors of the 45th separate rifle battalion are absolutely heroic,” Zelenskyy said.
∎ The Ukraine Ministry of Internal Affairs said Thursday that it had identified more than 232,000 war criminals and collaborators. Among them are almost 200,000 Russian occupation forces and “3,267 collaborators and traitors of Ukraine.”
F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots to begin this month
F-16 training for Ukrainian pilots will begin this month and UKraine’s diplomats must focus on the “powerful and challenging task” of obtaining the jets, Zelenskyy said Thursday. The Netherlands and Denmark agreed in May to lead the training after the Biden administration signed off on a plan allowing allies to send the U.S.-made fighter jets to Kyiv.
Biden had balked at the move, fearing the planes would ramp up the war. But Zelenskyy was unrelenting in his pursuit of F-16s, saying they were desperately needed to fend off Russian attacks on Ukraine’s cities and to provide air support for Ukraine’s critical counteroffensive. Ukraine has already received Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets from Poland and Slovakia.
“Now we need to work 100% with the countries that have these (F-16) aircraft and will be able to transfer them to us after training,” Zelenskyy said in a speech to Ukraine’s diplomatic corps. “The delivery and combat use of F-16s by our pilots should take place as soon as possible.”
Will Russian election determine the ‘future of the entire world’?
Russia’s presidential election in March will determine the fate of the country and the “future of the entire world,” Russian elections Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova said Thursday. President Vladimir Putin has not announced his candidacy but is expected to run. He has ruled the country either as president or prime minister for almost a quarter century.
“The upcoming presidential election is not comparable to any previous election, including presidential elections. It is about choosing the path,” Pamfilova said at an elections conference in the southern Russia city of Pyatigorsk, state media reported. “We will stand firm and endure.”
The first round of voting will be held on March 17. A second round would take place three weeks later if no candidate claimed 50% of the vote, but Putin discourages serious opposition and routinely wins with ease. In 2018 he claimed 76% of the vote. Russian presidents are constitutionally limited to two terms, but Putin can seek election to a fifth, six-year term under 2020 constitutional amendments that reset the number of terms he has served. Putin, 70, could also run again in 2030.
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