WAR IN UKRAINE: August 5, 2023
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 528
A Russian tanker with 11 crew members has been hit in a Ukrainian attack in the Black Sea, Russian officials say. They said the vessel's engine room was damaged in the overnight strike in the Kerch Strait. No-one was hurt. Ukraine has not publicly commented. But a Ukrainian security service source told the BBC a sea drone had been used. Saturday's attack is the second in as many days involving such weapons. Russia, however, has not admitted any damage during Friday's attack. Naval drones, or sea drones, are small, unmanned vessels which operate on or below the water's surface. Research by BBC Verify suggests Ukraine has carried out several attacks with sea drones - BBC
The first group of Ukrainian pilots that will take part in F-16 training have been identified, moving Kyiv one step closer to fielding an advanced warplane that could ward off further Russian invasions. According to both a U.S. official and a person familiar with Ukrainian planning, who weren’t authorized to speak on the record about the plans, eight Ukrainian pilots who are fluent in English are ready to begin training on the fighter jet as soon as a formal training plan is drawn up by a handful of European allies and approved by the United States. The exact timing of that instruction remains unclear. The U.S. official further said 20 pilots that speak some English are available to start language courses in the United Kingdom as soon as this month. (That may be what Ukrainian President VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY meant when he announced the start of F-16 training in August.) Altogether, 32 Ukrainian pilots — enough for two squadrons — have been identified to potentially take part in the training program, but English proficiency remains a sticking point.
The head of the Kyiv District Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support was detained. He’s accused of acting as an accomplice of the head of one of the departments of the headquarters of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, whom the Bureau exposed in a large-scale corruption scheme of sending citizens of draft age abroad on August 3, 2023 - Hromadske Radio