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One of the F-16 fighter jets despatched from Nato allies to Ukraine has been destroyed, a Ukrainian army supply has instructed the BBC.
The plane went down amid a barrage of Russian missiles on Monday, killing pilot Oleksiy Mes, Ukraine’s army stated. It marks the primary lack of its sort for the reason that planes have been delivered earlier this month.
The reason for the crash was not a direct results of an enemy missile strike, the Ukrainian army claims.
It stated the pilot destroyed three cruise missiles and one drone in Russia’s largest aerial assault to this point.
“Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from lethal Russian missiles,” the Ukrainian Air Force wrote in an announcement on social media, with out specifying the kind aircraft concerned. A army supply confirmed to the BBC he was flying an F-16.
“Unfortunately, at the price of his personal life.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally confirmed on Tuesday the US-made F-16’s have 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 can be no restrictions on their utilization other than complying with humanitarian legislation, he instructed a convention in Washington on Wednesday – which means Kyiv might launch deeper strikes into Russian territory.
Around 65 F-16s have been pledged by Nato nations since US President Joe Biden first authorised prepared 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 programs resembling Patriot and Nasams that are already on the bottom.
They additionally 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, much like the JDAM munitions from the United States.
The destruction of the plane is blow to Zelensky, who stated he’ll ship a “victory plan” to US President Joe Biden subsequent month.
He additionally revealed Ukraine had not too long ago carried out the primary profitable check of a domestically-produced ballistic missile, however declined to share any extra particulars.
