RT quoted information from the Russian Ministry of National Defense on September 15 saying that Russian forces shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets in the past 24 hours.
Two Kiev-operated Sukhoi Su-27 aircraft were destroyed by Russian aerospace forces, while Russian air defense forces shot down a Mikoyan MiG-29 aircraft, the Russian Ministry of National Defense said in its daily update on September 15.
During the same period, Russian air defense forces also intercepted a US-made HIMARS missile, four French-made Hammer guided bombs and 55 drones.
In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have lost more than 2,200 troops along the front line and dozens of other pieces of equipment, including several US-made M777 howitzers and British L-119 howitzers.
The Soviet Union began producing the Su-27 and MiG-29 in the early 1980s. These fighters were designed to counter American aircraft such as the F-15 and F-16.
In July, Forbes cited Oryx defense analysis data as saying that Ukraine had about 125 fighter jets including Su-27s, Su-25s, MiG-29s and other types when the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated in February 2022. About 90 of these have been destroyed since then, Forbes added.
A “coalition” of European countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Belgium, promised to supply Kiev with about 80 F-16 aircraft more than a year ago.
Ukraine received fewer than 10 of the US-designed fighters in early August, but lost its first F-16 on its first combat deployment later that month.
The Western-supplied fighter jet crashed during a Russian missile and drone attack on targets in Kiev, killing one of the country’s most experienced pilots, Aleksey ‘Moonfish’ Mes.
Ukrainian investigators have yet to release a cause for the crash. Media reports have suggested possible causes include technical failure, pilot error and friendly fire.
The Russian Ministry of National Defense has not reported the downing of the F-16. Some Russian news agencies have claimed that the Western aircraft may have been destroyed on the ground by an Iskander missile during an attack on an airfield in western Ukraine.
In March, Russian President Vladimir Putin said using F-16s in the conflict would make them "legitimate targets" for Russian forces, warning that the planes would be attacked even at airfields inside NATO countries if they operated from there.
