Announcing the deployment of the Azov Brigade, Ukrainian commanders say their most famous unit is back to fighting Russian forces on the front lines. Colonel Mykola Urshalovich said: “The Great Azov Special Forces Brigade is back in action and has begun to carry out combat missions.”
According to Urshalovich, the soldiers of the Azov brigade are defending the territories withdrawn from Russia and inflicting heavy losses in manpower and equipment on the enemy.
The development took place when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Western forces fighting in Ukraine in the city of Rostov-on-Don.
Ukrainian soldiers train on August 11. Photo: Anadolu
The Azov Brigade was a lethal force that defended the Azovstal Steel Plant in Mariupol in the middle of last year.
Not long ago, Ukraine sent the 82nd Air Assault Brigade to the front line.
Sheet Wire On 19 August, most of the Ukrainian brigades equipped and trained by the West were now ready to fight, including a brigade equipped with British Challenger 2 tanks.
also follow WireRussian forces counter-attacked in an area known as the Serebryansky Forest around the cities of Kupyansk and Liman in the northern part of the Eastern Front.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive two months ago, but suffered heavy losses in attacks on stronger defenses than Russia had expected.
This week, US intelligence officials said Ukraine would fall short of its retaliatory goal of retaking Mariupol, although the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) argued this was a premature assessment.
The ISW reported, “The Ukrainian counter-offensive was not a collection of separately scheduled operations. The ongoing counter-offensive operations are likely to be supported by more significant operations.” Furthermore, the ISW believes that the Russian forces are significantly underpowered.
Ukrainian soldiers are conducting exercises in Donetsk. Photo: Reuters
On 19 August, Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that the Ukrainian Air Force has begun training pilots to use the F-16 fighters, but that it may take 6 months or more.
Mr. Reznikov said that six months is the minimum training time for pilots, but it is not yet known how long it will take to train engineers and mechanics.
According to the news agency reutersThe US will deliver the F-16s when Ukraine completes training. A US official revealed that these F-16s will be delivered to Ukraine from the Netherlands and Denmark.
As for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, he met with Swedish government officials in Harpsund, about 120 kilometers west of Stockholm.
On August 19, after meeting with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Christerson, Zelensky announced that Ukraine had begun discussions with this country about the possibility of acquiring the Gripen fighter line manufactured by Sweden.
Ukraine and Sweden also signed an agreement to begin production of the Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicle for Ukraine.
