Ukraine admits loss of F-16, which it says crashed while repelling Russian attack this week

One of Ukraine's F-16 fighter jets crashed while repelling a major Russian attack on Monday, Kyiv's military said, the first such loss reported since the long-awaited arrival of the U.S.-made planes this month.

The jet came down and its pilot died while it was approaching a Russian target, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday on Facebook.

The F-16s had "demonstrated high efficiency" and downed four Russian cruise missiles, it added. Ukraine said Russia launched more than 200 missiles and drones that day targeting the energy sector.

"Connection with one of the aircraft was lost while it was approaching the next target. As it turned out later, the plane crashed, and the pilot died," the statement said.

Crash cause not clear

A U.S. defence official told Reuters that Monday's crash did not appear to be the result of Russian fire, and possible causes from pilot error to mechanical failure were still being investigated.

Ukraine has not given details about the size of its new fleet, though the loss left a significant dent. The Times of London has cited a source as saying Ukraine had six of the jets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Aug. 4 that Ukraine did not have enough pilots trained to use the F-16s or enough of the jets themselves.

Ukraine's air force western command said on Facebook that pilot Oleksiy Mes died in a combat mission on Monday.

"Oleksiy saved the Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles. Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life," the statement said.

Mes went by the call sign Moonfish, and CNN reported in 2023 that he was training for F-16 missions.

Mes and a fellow Ukrainian pilot, Andrii (Juice) Pilshchykov, made an early, public visit to the U.S. in June 2022 to press lawmakers and media to send Ukraine F-16 fighter jets and they both continued to serve as public faces for Ukraine's battle to secure its airspace. 

Pilshchykov was killed in an August 2023 accident.

"When I met with Ukraine pilots Juice and Moonfish I had a sick feeling they wouldn't make it through the war," former U.S. congressman Adam Kinzinger posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. "They fought like hell for Ukraine, and the F16."

Arrival of long-sought jets a milestone

The jets' arrival was a milestone for Ukraine in the fight against the full-scale invasion Russia launched 30 months ago.

Military analysts have said the small number of F-16s, while significant, are unlikely to be a turning point in the conflict.

Kyiv has been urging allies to supply modern jets since the start of Russia's invasion to bolster its small and old post-Soviet fleet.

Belgium, Denmark the Netherlands and Norway — all NATO members — have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of the planes.

That number is dwarfed by the Russian jet fighter fleet, which is around 10 times larger. Ukraine needs at least 130 F-16 fighter jets to neutralize Russian air power, Kyiv officials say.