Ukrainian officials confirmed on Thursday that an F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday and killed the pilot inside.
Ukraine’s Army General Staff on Thursday confirmed that one of its F-16 fighter jets crashed on Monday and killed the pilot inside.
On Monday, Russia carried out a major missile and drone attack on Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram that Moscow launched over 100 missiles and 100 drones in the assault. However, four of the Russian strikes were intercepted by F-16s, according to a statement from Kyiv’s military posted on Facebook.
The F-16 crash is the first reported loss of one of the U.S.-made fighter jets after Ukraine received several F-16s late last month. At least six F-16s are believed to have been delivered to the war-torn country from its allies.
The deceased pilot has been identified as Oleksii Mes, known by the call sign “Moonfish”, by the Ukrainian Air Force’s Western Air Command.
