F-16 fighter jet crashes in Ukraine

In this image provided by the U.S. Air Force, an F-16 takes off from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, on Jan. 25, 2024. © Staff Sgt. Heather Ley, AP

Ukraine said Thursday that a U.S.-designed F-16 fighter jet, a valuable piece of military hardware recently delivered by the West, crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, killing its pilot.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the F-16s were able to shoot down four Russian cruise missiles during the attack, but “during the approach to the next target, communication with one of the aircraft was lost.”

“It later turned out that the plane crashed and the pilot was killed,” he said on Telegram, without specifying when the accident occurred or the identity of the pilot.

The Ukrainian Air Force announced earlier Thursday that one of its pilots had been killed in massive Russian strikes earlier this week, but did not mention the F-16.

“Air Force pilot Oleksiy Mes died defending our country,” the Ukrainian Air Force Western Command said, adding that he was killed on Monday during a wave of Russian missile and drone strikes.

“On August 26, while repelling a Russian airstrike, Oleksiy destroyed three cruise missiles and an attack drone,” the source added.

According to the 144th Fighter Wing of the US Air Force, the 30-year-old pilot of the Soviet-designed MiG-29 was trained in 2019 to fly the American F-15. The unit had posted photos of Oleksiy Mes on board this type of aircraft on Facebook at the time.

The announcement of this accident comes as Ukraine announced in early August that it had received its first Western F-16 fighter jets, after a wait of more than two years.

According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine used this type of aircraft to repel the latest massive Russian strikes earlier this week.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, kyiv has been relentlessly pleading for the delivery of American-made F-16s, considered the crown jewel in the list of military hardware that Ukraine has requested from its allies.

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