One of many F-16 fighter jets despatched from Nato allies to Ukraine has been destroyed, a Ukrainian navy supply has informed the BBC.
The plane went down amid a barrage of Russian missiles on Monday, killing pilot Oleksiy Mes, Ukraine’s navy mentioned. It marks the primary lack of its sort because the planes had been delivered earlier this month.
The reason for the crash was not a direct results of an enemy missile strike, the Ukrainian navy claims.
It mentioned the pilot destroyed three cruise missiles and one drone in Russia’s largest aerial assault so far.
“Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from lethal Russian missiles,” the Ukrainian Air Drive wrote in a press release on social media.
“Sadly, at the price of his personal life.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally confirmed on Tuesday the US-made F-16’s had been being deployed to shoot down Russian drones and missiles.
This week, he requested allies to permit Ukraine to make use of lengthy vary missiles to hit targets additional into Russia.
Dutch Chief of Defence Gen Otto Eichelsheim confirmed The Netherlands will present Ukraine with 24 of the jets, along with extra weapons.
There will probably be no restrictions on their utilization aside from complying with humanitarian regulation, he informed a convention in Washington on Wednesday – which means Kyiv may launch deeper strikes into Russian territory.
Round 65 F-16s have been pledged by Nato nations since US President Joe Biden first authorised keen European allies to ship them to Ukraine in August 2023.
Ukraine’s F-16s work alongside a restricted variety of Western-supplied surface-to-air missile methods corresponding to Patriot and Nasams that are already on the bottom.
In addition they assist defend in opposition to Russian glide bombs – dumb munitions fitted with pop-out wing kits and steering modules to ship precision strike stand-off capabilities, just like the JDAM munitions from the USA.
The destruction of the plane is blow to Zelensky, who mentioned he’ll ship a “victory plan” to US President Joe Biden subsequent month.
He additionally revealed Ukraine had just lately carried out the primary profitable check of a domestically-produced ballistic missile, however declined to share any extra particulars.
