​The Netherlands and Denmark announced they would transfer up to 61 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine after pilot training was satisfactorily completed, as Zelensky visited both countries after months of calls to bolster Kyiv’s air force. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said her country would provide 19 planes – “hopefully”, six in the New Year, eight more next year and the remaining five in 2025. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, did not give the exact figure of his donation to the country. , but said that the Netherlands Air Force has 42 aircraft.

Highlights of the war in Ukraine, day 544, LIVETEXT:

07:50 Ukraine is finalizing work on a program with global insurers to cover grain ships heading to and from Black Sea ports, Deputy Economy Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Hryban said, the Financial Times reports.

Hryban said the deal is “currently under review and active discussion” between relevant ministries, as well as with national banks and international insurance groups, including Lloyd’s of London.

07:32 During the weekend, Ukrainian troops carried out counteroffensive actions on at least two areas of the front and advanced in the Robotyny region, the Institute for the Study of War notes.

The General Staff of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian troops were conducting counteroffensive actions in the direction of Melitopol (west of Zaporizhzhia region) and Berdyansk (west of Donetsk region – east of Zaporizhzhia region).

A Russian military blogger said that Russian forces continue to face problems with counter-battery capabilities in all areas of the front, but especially in the Zaporozhye direction. It also said that Russian units were experiencing a shortage of officers due to personnel losses and that soldiers were commanding some Russian companies.

07:01 EU gas stocks are 90% full, with two-and-a-half months to go before the November 1 deadline, the continent is well prepared for next winter amid market volatility.

Following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and a sharp cut in supplies from Russia, 27 countries adopted a legal framework in June 2022 that obligates them to collectively reach 90% gas reserves by November 1 each year.

A brief summary of recent events:

• Denmark has committed to sending 19 F-16s. Image of Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen in a fighter jet. Minister of Defense of Denmark: “I am proud that Denmark, together with the Netherlands, will transfer F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.” Zelensky says he will receive 42 planes.
• Ukrainian pilots have begun training on F-16 fighter jets, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with Ukrainian media on Saturday.
• The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, advises Western analysts who have doubts about the counteroffensive launched in June to be “careful with long-term forecasts and predictions.”
• Russia’s Roskosmos space agency said it lost contact with a lunar probe shortly after it experienced a problem Saturday while it was headed into a pre-salting orbit.
• Belarusian dictator Oleksandr Lukashenko congratulated Hungarian President Katalin Novak, noting that both countries have “similar approaches” to “the most important issues.”
• ​On Sunday morning, there was an attempted drone attack in the Rostov region, reported Vasyl Golubev, the governor of the border region with Ukraine, whose main city, Rostov-on-Don, is the headquarters of the military operation launched by Russia in Ukraine.
• Zelensky promised a tough response after at least seven people were killed and 144 injured in a “vile” Russian missile attack that hit a theater and a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv: “I am sure that our soldiers will answer Russia for this terrorist attack. The answer is noticeable,” Zelenskyy said.

—————–

• Sunday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro