TASS reported that the Ukrainian Air Force admitted to losing a Su-27 fighter jet in a clash with Russian forces on the morning of April 28 (local time).
The plane is said to be carrying out a complex mission, combining ground fire support and intercepting a Russian UAV, when it crashed and crashed.
A special investigation committee has been established, but it is not yet clear whether the plane was shot down or had technical problems.
According to Militarnyi, the Su-27 pilot pilot promptly parachuted to safety and was taken to a medical facility in stable condition. The Ukrainian Air Force did not disclose the specific location of the incident.
The incident comes shortly after another serious accident involving an F-16 fighter jet - a modern Western-supplied aircraft with limited quantity.
In an official announcement, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that pilot Pavlo Ivanov (26 years old) died while performing a tour of national defense. However, details about the circumstances of the incident have not been released.
Meanwhile, some Russian sources confirmed that the F-16 was shot down by air defenses in northern Ukraine while participating in a support campaign in Sumy province, which is considered a hot spot for fighting near the Russian border.
Although losing an F-16 is a significant loss of equipment, the biggest loss is still people.
Before piloting the F-16, Ivanov was said to have undergone a multi-month training process to adapt to this type of aircraft that requires high technical expertise and modern combat capability because he was familiar with controlling the Su-25 - a low-altitude fighter produced by the Soviet Union.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Ivanov played an important role in protecting the border guards from attack and destroying enemy targets.
This is not the first time the F-16 has had an accident. The first one is believed to have fallen in August last year in similar combat conditions.
Although the investigation conclusion has not been published, some sources suspect that the plane may have been mistaken and destroyed by the Ukrainian air defense system itself - a risk that cannot be underestimated in the current complex and high-speed combat environment.
