Fierce fighting continued on multiple fronts between Russia and Ukraine, as Russia on Thursday claimed it has controlled two settlement and hit various targets of the Ukrainian forces, and Ukraine said its forces are trying to contain the Russian offensive.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday that its forces have controlled the two settlements of Nikolaevka in the Donetsk region and Stelmakhivka in the Luhansk region, while hitting various Ukrainian targets including electronic warfare base station, British cruise missile warehouse and fuel depot.
According to the report, the Russian air defense system shot down aerial bombs, rockets and drones launched by the Ukrainian forces.
The Russian army repelled Ukrainian attacks in the Kursk region, destroying multiple rocket launcher system and several armored vehicles of the Ukrainian forces, said the report.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Thursday that it is an objective fact that the United States participated in the Ukrainian attack on Russia's Kursk region, which is the result of analyzing the data held by Russia.
He said there is a fierce information war going on, so not all data can be made public.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Thursday reported that, as of Thursday afternoon, its forces continued to engage in intensive battles with the Russian army in multiple directions and were taking necessary measures to contain Russian offensive.
The General Staff on Thursday also confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet crashed during fighting on Monday, and the pilot died.
The F16 fighters participating in the combat had destroyed four missiles, and one of the aircraft lost contact while approaching the next target, the General Staff said.
The special commission of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is working on the scene to determine the cause of the crash.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug 4 announced in a social media post that the first batch of F-16 fighter jets provided by other countries had arrived in Ukraine and been put into use, but he did not mention the exact number of such fighters Ukraine has received.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov recently said that the delivery of F-16 fighter jets by Western countries to Ukraine will not have a significant impact on the situation on the front line.
Onno Eichelsheim, the Commander of the Dutch Armed Forces said on Thursday that the Netherlands allows Ukraine to use F-16 fighter jets provided by the European country on Russian territory. He said that as long as Ukraine abides by the laws of war, the Netherlands will not impost any restrictions on the use and range of F-16s.
The Netherlands has promised to provide Ukraine with 24 F-16s, but Eichelsheim did not say how many aircrafts Ukraine has received. Russia and Ukraine are now widely using drones to launch offensive and defensive battles in Russia's Kursk region.
The Ukrainian army special forces on Wednesday released a video, claiming that they used drones to destroy a "Sapphire" electronic warfare system deployed by the Russian army in the direction of Kursk.
According to previous reports by Russian media, the system was developed by the Russian army specifically to respond to drones.
Vadym Sukharevskyi, deputy commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on Tuesday that the Ukrainian army has used more than 170 types of unmanned systems on the front line, of which, long-range drones have all been domestically produced.
Russia has also used a lot of drones in its battles against Ukraine. In the counterattack against the Ukrainian army in the Kursk direction, the Russian army frequently used the "Lancet" suicide drone to attack the armored vehicles and rocket launchers provided by NATO countries. Reconnaissance drones represented by the "Sea Eagle" series has played an important role in discovering targets and guiding artillery.
Russia controls two settlements, Ukraine contains Russian offensive
