Two people were injured in Moscow on Monday when debris from a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defenses fell on a house, according to the regional governor.
Russian officials said that Ukraine launched a drone attack aimed at the Moscow and Kaluga regions. The aerial assault temporarily disrupted flights at several Russian airports, but service later resumed.
Both Russia and Ukraine have deployed drones to target the opposing side, with damage on the ground often caused by debris from downed aircraft.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Danish lawmakers as he addressed them in Copenhagen Monday, a day after Denmark and the Netherlands announced they would provide Ukrainian forces with U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.
Russian Ambassador to Denmark Vladimir Barbin said in a statement Monday that Denmark’s decision to send F-16s to Ukraine “leads to an escalation of the conflict.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pledged 19 F-16s to Ukraine and said she hoped the first six could be delivered around the start of the 2024.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte did not detail how many F-16s his country would provide, nor when any deliveries might take place. He said the timing depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready.
“The F-16s will not help immediately now with the war effort. It is anyway a long-term commitment from the Netherlands,” Rutte said Sunday. “We want them to be active and operational as soon as possible. … Not for the next month, that’s impossible, but hopefully soon afterward.”
The Dutch and Danish governments are involved in a coalition that is working to train Ukrainian pilots to fly the advanced fighter jets.
The fighter jets are not likely to affect the trajectory of the war anytime soon, according to U.S. officials.
U.S. Air Force General James Hecker told reporters Friday at a virtual meeting of the Defense Writers Group that there are no prospects currently for either Ukraine or Russia to gain the upper hand in the air.
“I don’t think anyone’s going to get air superiority as long as the number of surface-to-air missiles stays high enough,” Hecker said, responding to a question from VOA.
“Both Ukraine and Russia have very good integrated air and missile defense systems,” he said. “That alone is what has prevented [Russia or Ukraine] from getting air superiority.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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