Ukraine's top pilot was killed when a US F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, just weeks after the long-awaited jets arrived in the country, CNN reported yesterday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The Ukrainian military announced that it lost contact with the plane while it was on a mission to repel a Russian attack, and a source told CNN that they believe that the cause of the bomber's crash was not pilot error.
Pilot Oleksiy Mes, known as "Munfish", was killed in the incident while "repelling the largest Russian air attack on Ukraine", said the source, adding that the pilot was buried yesterday.
The investigation into the plane crash is ongoing, and international experts will be invited to participate, the source added. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has been looking for F-16 planes for a long time, stressing their importance in the fight against Russia.
The death of the pilot is a big blow for Ukraine. The first F-16 planes arrived in the country only at the beginning of this month, and Mes was one of the few trained to fly the bombers.
Zelensky said Thursday that the Ukrainian air force used F-16 jets to destroy missiles and drones launched by Russia on Monday, marking the first time a Ukrainian official had confirmed that the bombers were being used in combat.
Kiev has been waiting a long time to get its hands on F-16s despite having requested them from its Western allies since the beginning of the invasion.
When the planes arrived earlier this summer, President Zelensky said he and his government had held "hundreds of meetings and negotiations" to secure the planes.
A group of Ukrainian pilots began training for F-16 aircraft in the US last fall. Although training to fly these planes can take years, "Munfiš" and the others had to master it in six months.
Ukraine hopes that the F-16s will bring the necessary impetus to the war. These aircraft are multi-purpose: they can provide air cover for troops, attack targets on the ground, engage enemy aircraft and intercept missiles.
However, CNN points out that these planes are not a magic solution. While Ukraine can use F-16s to deny Russia control of the skies, experts say their capabilities are inferior to Russia's most advanced fighter jets, which would likely prevail in a dogfight with the F-16s.
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