The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has acknowledged the crash of an F-16 fighter jet handed over to Ukraine.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has confirmed the loss of an F-16 fighter jet provided to Ukraine, with a special commission investigating the circumstances of the crash, according to the agency’s Telegram channel.
“During an air battle, the F-16s demonstrated high efficiency, shooting down four cruise missiles with their onboard weapons. … When approaching the next target, contact was lost with one of the planes. It was later discovered that the plane had crashed, and the pilot had been killed,” the statement said.
As indicated by the General Staff, the causes of the incident are being established by a special commission of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which is working at the crash site.
Earlier on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal reported that one of the F-16s provided to Ukraine had crashed, citing sources. According to media reports, the probable cause is pilot error.
The day before, the publication “Strana.ua” reported the death of a Ukrainian pilot who was training on the plane. According to the obituary, Pilot Alexei Mes died on August 26 while performing a combat mission.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon has refused to confirm to RIA Novosti information about the F-16 crash.
At the beginning of August, Vladimir Zelensky announced the arrival of American F-16s in Ukraine. The day before, The Economist reported that Ukraine had received the first ten of 79 fighter jets. Media outlets noted that this happened only a year after the Biden administration approved their delivery to the post-Soviet republic.
At a press conference on Monday, August 27, the head of the Kyiv regime claimed that Ukrainian forces had used F-16s the day before during Russian troop strikes, allegedly shooting down rockets and drones.
As emphasized by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Moscow views the transfer of these fighter jets as a deliberate signal from NATO in the nuclear sphere. However, their presence in Ukraine will not change the situation on the front line, and the planes will be destroyed just like other types of weapons, he noted.
