Izvestia reported that on May 16, a US-made F-16 fighter jet owned by Ukraine was reportedly shot down after participating in a clash with the Russian military.
The Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said it had lost contact with the F-16 at around 3am (local time).
Fortunately, the pilot promptly launched the escape chair, was later found and evacuated from the area. Currently, this person's health is assessed to be stable.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said it had established a committee to investigate the incident. Up to now, the Ukrainian side has not released new information about the incident.
The incident has increased the total number of F-16 fighters lost to 3.
The most recent was shot down on April 12, also in a clash with the Russian military, but the control pilot was unfortunately killed.
In an official announcement, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that pilot Pavlo Ivanov (26 years old) died while performing the task of protecting the territory.
Meanwhile, some Russian sources confirmed that the latest F-16 was shot down by air defense forces in northern Ukraine while participating in a support campaign in Sumy province, an area considered a hot spot for fighting near the Russian border.
Previously, in August 2024, the first Ukrainian F-16 was shot down in a similar situation.
Although the investigation conclusion on this incident has not been published, some sources suspect that the plane may have been mistaken and mistakenly shot by the Ukrainian air defense system itself - a risk that cannot be underestimated in the current complex and high-speed combat environment.
In addition to the F-16, on April 28, the Ukrainian Air Force also admitted to losing a Su-27 fighter jet.
According to TASS, the plane is said to be carrying out a complex mission, combining ground fire support and intercepting a Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) when it crashed and crashed.
