Ukraine has confirmed that one of its F-16 jets crashed and its pilot died while it was approaching a target during a Russian air strike on Monday.
The fighter jet went down when Moscow launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine, according to a military statement posted on Facebook.
Four of the Russian missiles and drones were shot down by F-16s before they reached their targets, the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement.
“Connection with one of the aircraft was lost while it was approaching the next target. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, the pilot died,” the military said.
Irish Defence Forces take part in war games as part of effort to boost EU military capability
Germany sends more military aid to Ukraine and criticises China’s support for Russia
Finding a solution for a tenant who can’t meet rent after splitting with partner
‘I stopped short of eating sheep brains’: Irish Times reporters abroad on their favourite foods and restaurants
It was one of the handful of F-16 warplanes that Ukraine has received from its Western partners to help fight Russia’s invasion, which began in February 2022. The planes arrived in Ukraine last month. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered.
The Defence Ministry has opened the investigation into the crash.
Earlier on Thursday, Russia conducted a heavy aerial attack on Ukraine for the third time in four days, again launching missiles and scores of drones that mostly were intercepted, Ukraine’s air force said.
Russian forces fired five missiles and 74 Shahed drones at Ukrainian targets, an air force statement said. Air defences stopped two missiles and 60 drones, and 14 other drones presumably fell before reaching their target, the statement added.
Authorities in the capital, Kyiv, said debris of destroyed drones fell in three districts of the city, causing minor damage to civilian infrastructure but no injuries.
Russia’s relentless long-range strikes on civilian areas have been a feature of the war since it invaded its neighbour.
Belgium, Denmark the Netherlands and Norway – all Nato members – have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of the planes. That number is dwarfed by the Russian jet fighter fleet, which is about 10 times larger.
Ukraine needs at least 130 F-16 fighter jets to neutralise Russian air power, Kyiv officials say.
Military analysts have said the arrival of the planes will not be a game-changer in the war, given Russia’s massive air force and sophisticated air defence systems. But Ukrainian officials welcomed them as offering an opportunity to hit back at Russia’s air superiority.
Ukraine has until now been using Soviet-era warplanes, and its pilots underwent intense training on the F-16s in the West for months. The usual training period is three years.
US president Joe Biden granted authorisation in August 2023 for the US-built warplanes to be sent to Ukraine. That came after months of pressure from Kyiv and internal debate in the US administration where officials feared the move could escalate tensions with the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday he spent several days on the eastern Pokrovsk front and described fighting there as “exceptionally tough”.
Russia has been pressing hard towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast in western Ukraine in recent months, steadily inching forward.
The scale of assaults did not drop after Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s west Kursk region on August 6th.
“Fights are exceptionally tough. The enemy throws into battle everything that can move and advance, trying to break through our defences,” Mr Syrskyi said on Facebook.
He said the most intense clashes were taking place in the area of Krasnyi Yar, some 10km (6.2 miles) from the city of Pokrovsk.
Eastern outskirts of Hrodivka village, less than 9km (5.6 miles) from the strategic route connecting the city to Kostiantynivka, were also seeing intensified assaults, Mr Syrskyi added.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the situation near Pokrovsk was “extremely difficult” and Kyiv would further strengthen its positions.
Mr Zelenskiy said on Telegram he was briefed by his top military on the situation during a meeting that also discussed “concrete defensive actions”.
Earlier, Ukraine’s military said it had attacked an artillery depot and two oil storage facilities in Russia on Wednesday, causing a fire at the Atlas oil depot in the southern Rostov region.
The military said it had also attacked the Zenit oil facility in Russia’s Kirov region, some 1,500km northeast of the border with Ukraine. A field artillery depot in the Russian region of Voronezh was also attacked, it added.
Russian authorities said on Wednesday Ukrainian drones had caused a fire at a Rostov oil depot and did not report any casualties, while Kirov regional governor Alexander Sokolov said a drone attack on an oil products depot in the town of Kotelnich did not cause a blaze or any casualties.
In Voronezh, which borders Ukraine, governor Alexander Gusev said debris from a Ukrainian drone had caused a fire to break out “near explosive objects” but they did not explode.
Kyiv says its attacks aim to destroy energy, transport and military infrastructure key to Moscow’s war effort. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the 30-month-old war.
– AP/Reuters