Ukraine's newly acquired American made F-16 fighter jet crashes; one pilot dead
F-16 fighter jets
Just weeks after Ukraine received the US-made F-16 fighter jets, one of the coveted jets was destroyed in a crash on Monday (Aug 26), according to United Statesdefence officials.
Speaking to Reuters, a US defence official said that Russian fire does not appear to be the cause of the crash. However, it is yet to be determined what caused the crash — pilot error or mechanical failure.
Kyiv has also confirmed the crash and saidthat the jet crashed while repelling a Russian air strike.
This marks the first reported destruction of an F-16 in Ukraine, just weeks after Kyiv began taking delivery of the supersonic aircraft.
"F-16 fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were used to repel a missile attack on the territory of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, along with units of anti-aircraft missile troops," the Ukrainian army said.
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"During the approach to the next target, communication with one of the planes was lost. As it turned out later, the aircraft crashed, killing the pilot," it added.
F-16 jets in commission
On Tuesday (August 27), UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelensky said that the F-16 jets were used to repel the Russian attack on Monday and it showed good results.
Russia had staged a "massive" missile and drone attack against Ukraine, said the war-torn nation's Air Commander. This was followed by another massive attack on Tuesday.
While the pilot who died in the crash has not been identified, a unit of Ukraine had earlier said thatone of its pilots, Oleksiy Mes, had died in a crash on Monday (Aug 26) while repelling a Russian air attack.
"On 26 August, while repelling a Russian massive combined missile and air strike, Oleksiy destroyed three cruise missiles and one attack drone," said Ukraine's Western air command unit.
"Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles. Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life," it added.
(With inputs from agencies)
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photosandvideos.
