On Thursday, August 29th, according to officials from the United States and Ukraine, an American-made F-16 fighter jet sent to Ukraine crashed on Monday. This is the first report of such a loss since the F-16 fighter jets were delivered to Ukraine earlier this month.
The Ukrainian General Staff posted a statement on Facebook on Thursday, stating that the aircraft crashed during a Russian air raid as it approached the target, resulting in the death of the pilot.
The statement also mentioned that the F-16 fighter jet demonstrated high efficiency by successfully intercepting four Russian cruise missiles.
“One of the aircraft lost contact while approaching the next target. It was later discovered that the aircraft had crashed, and the pilot was killed,” the statement added.
The crash occurred on Monday, August 26th, during a large-scale missile attack by Russia. However, US officials indicated that preliminary reports suggest the fighter jet was not shot down by Russian firepower.
On August 4th, Ukrainian President Zelensky confirmed that Ukrainian pilots had begun flying F-16 fighter jets, heralding this moment as a significant milestone in countering the Russian invasion that began 29 months ago.
On Tuesday, August 27th, Zelensky stated that the F-16 fighter jets were used to repel a large-scale attack launched by Russia on Monday, during which Russia fired over two hundred missiles and drones targeting Ukraine’s energy sector.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian Air Force stated in a declaration that pilot Oleksiy Mes, codenamed “Moonfish,” lost his life in combat while assisting in repelling the Russian missile attack on Monday.
Mes was among the first group of Ukrainian pilots trained to operate F-16 fighter jets. He was also one of Ukraine’s most renowned pilots, often appearing in the media and lobbying for the US to send jet fighters to Ukraine during his visits to the United States.
(Translated and rewritten based on a report by Reuters)