The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands to defend against Russian forces as soon as pilot training is completed, a US official has said.
Ukraine has actively sought the US-made F-16 fighter jets to help it counter Russian air superiority.
The US government gave officials from Denmark and the Netherlands assurances that the United States will expedite approval of transfer requests for F-16s to go to Ukraine when the pilots are trained, the official said.
Denmark and the Netherlands had recently asked for those assurances. The US must approve the transfer of the military jets from its allies to Ukraine.
A coalition of 11 countries was due to start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets this month in Denmark.
Denmark's acting Defence Minister Troels Poulsen said in July that the country hoped to see "results" from the training in early 2024.
NATO members Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading international efforts to train pilots as well as support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately enable Ukraine to obtain F-16s for use in its war with Russia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent letters to his Danish and Dutch counterparts assuring them that the requests would be approved, the US official said.
"I am writing to express the United States' full support for both the transfer of F-16 fighter aircraft to Ukraine and for the training of Ukrainian pilots by qualified F-16 instructors," Mr Blinken said in a letter to the two officials, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
Mr Blinken said, "It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty."
He said the approval of the requests would allow Ukraine to take "full advantage of its new capabilities as soon as the first set of pilots complete their training."
In May, US President Joe Biden endorsed training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s. In addition to training in Denmark, a training centre was to be set up in Romania.
Kyiv will not be able to operate US-built F-16 fighter jets this coming autumn and winter, Ukraine air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian television late on Wednesday.
US officials have privately said that F-16 jets would have been of little help to Ukraine in its current counter-offensive and will not be a game changer when they eventually arrive given Russian air defence systems and contested skies over Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the US also announced that it has extended its temporary protected status for Ukraine for 18 months to 19 April, 2025.
The US Department of Homeland Security said that it made other changes that would enable additional eligible Ukrainians to apply for the status, which will be in effect from 20 October.
It came as Russian officials said its forces have destroyed Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and its Black Sea Fleet, the latest in a surge of attacks on the capital and the flashpoint waterway.
Russia's defence ministry said its air force downed a Ukrainian drone over the capital early this morning.
Moscow's mayor said emergency services were on the scene, but that early reports indicated there were no casualties.
"The wreckage of the UAV fell in the area of the Expo Centre, and did not cause significant damage to the building," Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram.
State-run news agency TASS reported that one of the walls of the venue's pavilion had partially collapsed, citing emergency services.
TASS also reported that the airspace near the international airport of Vnukovo was briefly closed, with departures and arrivals delayed, citing the aviation service.
The expo centre, on the Krasnopresnenskaya embankment of the Moskva River, hosts regular exhibitions and trade shows, according to its website.
The venue is 100 metres from Moscow-City, an office block in the capital's main business district that was struck twice within days by debris from downed drone strikes this month.
Until a series of attacks in recent months, the capital had not been targeted during the conflict in Ukraine, which began more than a year ago.
Last week, Russia destroyed a Ukrainian drone over Moscow's west, with debris landing in a park on the Karamyshevskaya embankment.
In May drones were shot down near the Kremlin, less than 5km from the Expo Centre.
On 30 July, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that "war" was coming to Russia, with the country's "symbolic centres and military bases" becoming targets.
Hours before the strike on Moscow, Russia said it thwarted a Ukrainian marine drone attack on its warships in the Black Sea, the latest in a string of assaults on its fleet.
Russia's defence ministry said the drone was destroyed late last night by navy patrol ships, 237km southwest of Sevastopol - the base of its Black Sea Fleet on the Moscow-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Attacks from both sides have escalated in the Black Sea since Russia pulled out of a deal that had allowed safe export of Ukrainian grain through the shipping hub.
On 4 August, Russia said it had repelled Ukraine's attempted drone attack on its Novorossiysknaval base in the sea, while a Ukrainian security source said the strike on a warship at the base was successful.
The attack came hours after a civilian cargo ship sailing through the Black Sea from Ukraine reached Istanbul in defiance of a Russian blockade.
Moscow announced last month that it would consider any ships nearing Ukraine in the Black Sea as potential military cargo carriers.
President Zelensky said the ship was using a "new humanitarian corridor" Kyiv established after the grain deal collapsed.
Days ago, a Russian navy ship fired warning shots and boarded a Turkish-owned but Palau-flagged cargo vessel that was sailing to a Ukrainian river port.
Russia has also ramped up attacks on Ukraine's port infrastructure in the Black Sea and the Danube River, a vital export route since the grain deal's scrapping, in recent weeks.
Russia's attempts to control shipping on the Black Sea come against the backdrop of a military counteroffensive launched in June by Ukrainian forces, which is supported by new Western equipment but making slow progress.
