Starokostiantyniv, a small city in western Ukraine, has become a frequent target of russian attacks due to its still-Soviet air base, especially ahead of the expected arrival of American F-16 fighter jets.
Reuters writes about this.
Ukrainian air defense repelled an attack on Starokostiantyniv on June 27, 2024. Starokostiantyniv air base is a key facility for the Ukrainian Air Force and is expected to become one of the bases for the new F-16s. The first planes are expected to arrive this month, and Ukraine hopes they will bolster forces trying to repel a russian offensive along the front line, during which guided aerial bombs are flying at the Ukrainians, which the F-16s can potentially shoot down.
Officials have not disclosed where the F-16s will be based, but Moscow said after last Thursday's strike on Starokostiantyniv that it had targeted airfields where it believed they would be based.
A representative of the Ukrainian Air Force said that the strikes cause "certain difficulties" but will not prevent the delivery of F-16s or their use in combat. In addition, the russian Ministry of Defense announced that it had destroyed five Ukrainian SU-27 fighters at the Myrhorod airfield in the Poltava Region.
Ukraine called this statement exaggerated. Military analysts said the russians likely targeted the air base's infrastructure, such as runways and warehouses, to make it difficult for the F-16s to get airborne and, once they arrived, target the Western planes themselves.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on June 30, fragments of a russian missile fell on a high-rise building in Kyiv.
On June 29, russian occupation forces attacked the city of Vilniansk, Zaporizhzhia district.
36 people, including 9 children, were injured in Vilniansk due to enemy shelling.
On Sunday, June 30, the Zaporizhzhia Region declared a day of mourning for those killed in the attack of the russian occupation forces on Vilniansk.
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