A Ukrainian pilot was killed after his F-16 fighter was lost while repulsing a large-scale Russian missile and drone attack, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.
It was the third such loss of an F-16 of the war, the military said. However, this could actually have been the fourth crash, as per EurAsian Times’ estimates.
“The pilot used all of his onboard weapons and shot down seven air targets. While shooting down the last one, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude,” the Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app.
It stated that the pilot did everything he could and flew the jet away from the settlement, but did not have time to eject.
The F-16 fighter pilot was killed in the night after his F-16 jet was damaged in mid-air “without him having the time to eject”, according to an air force statement. Paying the pilot his respects, Zelensky said he was working to shoot down Russian projectiles before his death.
Earlier, on May 16, Ukraine lost an F-16 Fighting Falcon, as EurAsian Times reported.
Announcing the incident on Facebook, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said: “On May 16, 2025, around 03.30, communication with the F-16 aircraft was lost.” The F-16 in question was repelling a Russian aerial attack when it developed some unidentified problems.
The Air Force stated in a press release that the pilot steered the plane away from the settlement it was flying over and successfully ejected, after which he was rescued by search and rescue teams.
“The pilot’s condition is satisfactory, he is safe, and his life and health are not in danger,” the statement noted. It further stated that the accident did not appear to have been caused by Russian fire, and that a committee had been established to investigate the incident.
The first crash occurred just weeks after Ukraine received its first F-16 and claimed the life of the pilot. While the accident was initially attributed to a technical malfunction or pilot error, a Wall Street Journal report later floated the possibility of friendly fire from a Ukrainian Patriot missile defense system.
The second crash of an F-16 occurred in April 2025, killing the pilot again. Initially, several theories, including that of an air-to-air combat between Russia and Ukraine, as well as friendly fire, were floated. However, Russia put all speculations to rest by announcing that the F-16 was shot down by an air defense system.
The third crash was the May 16 incident, where experts suggested that the S-400 AD missile was behind the kill.
Sergey Shmotyev, the Director General of the Fores, told TASS that 12 Russian soldiers who helped shoot down the first F-16 fighter in the ‘special military operation’ zone have received 15 million rubles ($195,000). The award ceremony was held on May 29.
“Twelve servicemen involved in downing the target received money certificates,” the company said in an official announcement.
The latest incident marks the fourth loss of a Ukrainian F-16.
Wave Of Russian Strikes In Ukraine
Fresh Russian strikes targeting Ukrainian regions from Saturday night to Sunday wounded at least seven people, according to the war-torn country’s authorities.
Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Russia has launched near-nightly bombardments of its neighbour’s towns and cities, raining down drones and missiles on military and civilian targets alike.
Talks on ending the fighting between the two sides are at an impasse, with Kyiv accusing Moscow, which occupies nearly one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory, of wanting the war to drag on.
In the night, the Russian army launched 477 drones and 60 missiles of various types, according to the Ukrainian air force, which said it had intercepted 475 and 39 of those, respectively. The strikes led to “six impacts”, the air force said, without giving further details.
Pointing to the bombardment, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky argued they showed that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, “has long decided to pursue this war, despite the international community’s calls for peace”.
US President Donald Trump, who has tilted Washington’s policy on the war in favour of Moscow since retaking office, has not responded to Kyiv’s request.
In the central Cherkasy region, the Russian strikes wounded a total of six people, including a child, the Ukrainian police said on Telegram.
Far from the frontline in the western Ivano-Frankivsk region, the strikes likewise wounded a woman who was “taken to hospital”, according to the regional governor Svitlana Onyshchuk.
In the morning after the nighttime strikes, a Russian drone attack killed a 60-year-old man after hitting his car in the northwest Kharkiv region, where the Russian army is on the march, according to the authorities.
For its part, the Russian army said it had intercepted three Ukrainian drones on the night from Saturday to Sunday.
- With AFP Inputs
- Mail us at editor (at) eurasiantimes.com
