Day 534 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Both Sides Exchange Attacks on their Capitals

Day 534 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• The first group of Ukrainian pilots will complete their training on F-16 fighters next summer at the earliest
• Zelensky fired all the heads of military districts in Ukraine
• Russia shot down a drone over Moscow and hit Kyiv with missiles
• Explosions in Kyiv, air alert announced
• At least one killed and 16 injured in a Russian strike on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine
• Powerful night fire in Moscow. Putin's official residence and Vnukovo Airport are nearby.
• The US, the EU, Moldova and Romania are discussing routes to transport grain from Ukraine
• "The Economist": Ukrainians do not fight like Americans. And that may be bad news for Russia

The first group of Ukrainian pilots will complete their training on F-16 fighters next summer at the earliest

The first group of six Ukrainian pilots will complete training on American F-16 fighter jets as early as next summer, The Washington Post reported, citing Ukrainian, European and American officials and military personnel. Two other pilots have been selected as back-up candidates.

The Ukrainian military says the selected pilots have excellent English, but they will nevertheless be sent to Britain for a four-month language course. This postpones to January the start of combat training, which is expected to last six months. The representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Netherlands, Lt. Col. Mark van de Beek, emphasized that the main problem in the training of Ukrainian pilots...