Ukraine's F-16 plane crashes, pilot dies while fending off Russian attack

The plane crashed and its pilot died while approaching a Russian target, the Ukrainian General Staff announced on Facebook on Thursday.

The F-16s had “demonstrated high efficiency” and shot down four Russian cruise missiles, it said. Ukraine said Russia had fired more than 200 missiles and drones at the energy sector that day.

“The connection with one of the aircraft was lost during the approach to the next target. As it later turned out, the aircraft crashed and the pilot died,” the statement said.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters that Monday's crash did not appear to have been caused by Russian fire and that possible causes – from pilot error to mechanical failure – were still being investigated.

CHALLENGES

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on August 4 that Ukraine does not have enough pilots trained to operate the F-16, nor does it have enough jets of its own.

The Western Command of the Ukrainian Air Force announced on Facebook that pilot Oleksiy Mes was killed during a combat mission on Monday.

“Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles. Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life,” the statement said.

Mes had the call sign Moonfish and CNN reported in 2023 that he was training for F-16 missions.

The arrival of the jets was a milestone for Ukraine in the fight against Russia's large-scale invasion two and a half years ago.

Military analysts believe that the small number of F-16 fighter jets, while significant, is unlikely to represent a turning point in the conflict.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, Kiev has been pushing its allies to supply modern fighter jets to reinforce its small and old post-Soviet fleet.

Before Kyiv received F-16 bombers this year, Russia had more time to prepare its defenses, and Ukraine was forced to rely on a decimated air force that is only a fraction of the size and complexity of its opponent's air forces.

Sign up Here.

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.opens new tab