Ukraine war: Medvedev warns of World War III, F-16 training for Ukraine, UK announces new aid

Ukrainian pilots will be trained on US-made F-16s as early as August, officials attending the NATO summit told reporters on Tuesday.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov confirmed a memorandum had been signed between ten NATO members and Ukraine to conduct the training.

Reznikov said preparations will last no longer than six months, bolstering Ukraine’s capabilities in the air to fight against the Russian invasion.

He thanked Denmark and the Netherlands for their “outstanding leadership” in striking the deal.

Ukraine’s allies first agreed on training the country’s air force on advanced fighter jets at the G7 summit held in Japan in May, without ironing out the details. 

Russia, in response to the support, warned that allowing Kyiv to use F-16s would be a “colossal risk” and would spread the war across Europe.

Kyiv, however, has not been guaranteed the delivery of F-16 jets, since none of its allies have committed to sending warplanes.

Wagner mercenaries reached a Russian nuclear base and wanted to acquire Soviet-era nuclear devices to “raise stakes in their mutiny,” Ukraine’s head of military intelligence Kyrylo Budanov said.

Various online videos showed a contingent of military vehicles turning in the military base’s direction as Wagner forces marched towards Moscow on June 24, he said. 

Budanov added forces came very close to nuclear weapons, but were hindered by the doors to the facility.

A source close to the Kremlin told Reuters news agency that Wagner mercenaries got into a zone of “special interest and agitated Americans because nuclear munitions were stored there.”

This caused a stir in Kremlin, resulting in a hurried deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end the mutiny, another source told