Month: January 2025

In the UK, 200 Ukrainian pilots have completed basic training for operating F-16 fighter jets, according to the British Embassy in Ukraine.

Ukrainian pilots underwent flight, ground, and language training.

RAF instructors taught them general aircraft handling, flying by the aircraft’s instruments, low-level navigation and advanced formation flying,” the Embassy statement says.

F-16 transfers to Ukraine

In 2023, Ukraine and its allies formed an aviation coalition aimed at providing F-16 fighter jets. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine required at least 128 F-16 jets.

By August 2024, it was confirmed that the first F-16 jets had arrived in Ukraine, though the exact number remains unclear. The Netherlands and Denmark were the first to deliver F-16s, followed by Belgium, which pledged to provide 30 jets by the end of 2028.

In August 2024, Ukraine lost one of the F-16s due to a mass enemy attack, resulting in the death of experienced pilot Oleksii Mes, known as Moonfish.

Ukrainian pilots continue their F-16 training in several countries, including the US.

Israel will deliver “blows with a force not seen in Gaza for a long time” if the terrorist group Hamas does not release the hostages it has held for the past 14 months and does not stop its rocket attacks, states Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, according to The Times of Israel.

“If Hamas does not soon allow the release of the Israeli hostages from Gaza, despite Israel’s willingness to make far-reaching compromises in accordance with the principles outlined by the US president, and continues to fire at Israeli communities, it will receive blows with a force not seen in Gaza for a long time,” Katz stated.

It was reported that last night Hamas fired two rockets at the city of Netivot. There were no casualties or damage.

“The IDF will intensify its activities against the terror nests in Gaza until the release of the hostages and the elimination of Hamas,” the minister noted.

He also urged the residents of the Gaza Strip to rise up against the Hamas terrorists who are using them as human shields and to work towards the release of the hostages to prevent suffering and end the war.

War between Israel and Hamas

On December 26, Hamas and Israel exchanged accusations over the delay in implementing a ceasefire, which had been previously agreed upon. Militants claimed that Israel had introduced additional conditions, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the group of deviating from the agreements that had already been reached.

Today, on January 1, the terrorist group Hamas launched rockets from the Gaza Strip at southern areas of Israel.

According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, the hostages held in Gaza have been subjected to torture, including sexual and psychological abuse, starvation, burns, and lack of medical care.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian government and the country’s largest bank, Sberbank, to deepen cooperation with China, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), according to Reuters.

This decision follows Putin’s earlier statement that Russia would collaborate with BRICS partners and other nations to advance AI development.

“To ensure further co-operation with the People’s Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence,” his statement says.

Reuters reports that these moves may have been driven by Western sanctions aimed at restricting Moscow’s access to the technologies needed to sustain its war efforts against Ukraine. The halt in exports of key microchips by major global producers has severely limited Russia’s ambitions in AI development.

By cooperating with non-Western countries, Russia appears to be seeking to challenge US dominance in one of the most promising and important technologies of the 21st century.

Russia currently ranks 31st out of 83 countries in terms of AI implementation, innovation, and investment, significantly lagging not only behind the US and China but also other BRICS members like India and Brazil.

Previously, we reported that the Russian military is working on AI-powered Shahed drones, aiming to create drone swarms.

Additionally, the US does not accuse American companies, whose products Russia uses in missile production, of violating export controls. Their components continue to be supplied through intermediaries.