Ukrainians Lost First F-16 Fighter? Pilot Dead

The incident, which allegedly took place on Monday, was first reported by the editorial office of the newspaper “The Wall Street Journal”. So far, this information has not been officially confirmed. The Ukrainians received their first fighters from the West in early August.

Ukrainians used F-16 for the first time during a massive Russian attack

The WSJ article indicates that this information comes from one of the American officials. The interlocutor told the editorial office that the plane crash was not the result of Russian fire. There are many indications that the pilot could have made a mistake during the flight.

On August 26, the Russians attacked 15 of Ukraine’s 24 regions (including Lviv). That day, the Ukrainians used American multirole fighters in combat for the first time—to repel a missile attack. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed this a day later.

According to The Kyiv Independent, the defenders managed to shoot down 102 missiles and 99 drones. On Monday, the Russians sent 127 and 109 drones, respectively, towards Ukrainian civilian facilities and critical infrastructure. This means that most of them were neutralized. Journalists report that the noise associated with the explosions could be heard in Kharkiv, Zaporozhye and Ivano-Frankivsk, among other places.

Ukraine. Pilot is dead

Shortly after the information provided by WSJ, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the pilot’s death.

“KI” recalls that Ukraine has so far received 10 promised F-16s. The first units arrived in the country in early August. In general, Zelensky’s defending state is to receive several dozen fighters from the West, probably 79, from Belgium, Norway, Denmark or the Netherlands.

The deceased pilot was Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes. It is not stated, however, whether the soldier died on board the American plane.