ukraine said Shot down a Russian Tu-22M3 strategic bomber from a distance of 308 km (180 miles). Eight people, including two children, were killed in a long-range airstrike in Dnipropetrovsk. “We can only say that the planes collided at a distance of 308 kilometers, which is quite far away,” said Kirillo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s military intelligence agency GUR.
Sources told Reuters that the plane Attacked by an improved S-200 Soviet-era long-range surface-to-air missile system. Unverified social media footage showed the jet spiraling towards the ground with its tail on fire. Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the crash in the Stavropol region in southern Russia, but maintained that a technical failure appeared to have been the cause. According to the Russian regional governor, four crew members escaped, one died, two were rescued and one is missing.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits the strike site in Dnipropetrovsk. He once again called on Ukraine’s allies to urgently further strengthen their air defense systems.. Zelenskiy said Russian missiles also struck the Black Sea port of Pivdeni in the southern Odesa region on Friday afternoon, destroying grain storage facilities and food inside.
In the United States, The House of Representatives has cleared procedural hurdles to pass a foreign aid package that includes $61 billion for Ukraine. Joanna Walters writes: The House is scheduled to vote on the bill on Saturday. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told senators to prepare to return this weekend if the bill passes the House and returns to the Senate. If it passes the Senate, it would need to be signed into law by President Joe Biden. US will ship arms to Ukraine ‘soon’White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday.
More than half of the £900 million in international military funding for Ukraine administered by the UK Ministry of Defence is unspent because: Delays in issuance of contracts by bureaucratsDaniel Boffey reports. Critics claim that the International Fund of Ukraine has been slow to supply arms to the front lines. Just £404 million has been spent, with ministers admitting some equipment is not expected to arrive in Ukraine until spring next year..
This fund was established in August 2022, Designed for “flexibility” and “low bureaucracy”.Defense Department officials said the delay was caused by the need to evaluate each item. A huge number of defense companies submitted bids. For a contract. “We have received thousands of responses from industry to the requirements of the International Fund of Ukraine, and each must be considered individually,” a Defense Ministry spokesperson said. We make no excuses for making sure this was done properly and in a way that most effectively supported Ukraine. ”
