April 15, 2025, 9:06 pm
Ukraine has faced a devastating setback. The Ukrainian Air Force stated, “On April 12, 2025, while performing a combat mission on an F-16 aircraft, 26-year-old Pavlo Ivanov died (…) he died in combat.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed a “strong and precise” response, implying that Russia was responsible for downing the aircraft.
In a heartfelt tribute posted on social media, Rostislav Lazarenko, Deputy Commander of the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade, honored Ivanov’s life, reflecting on his journey and ultimate sacrifice.
He said, “I was so proud that we managed to pull you from combat missions and send you for retraining on the F-16. One of the first Ukrainian F-16 pilots – a combat assault pilot who completed 130 combat sorties before retraining,”
He added,“You never refused combat missions, and I don’t even know if it was such strong trust in me as a commander, or if it was deep faith in yourself – because you were truly a strong pilot.”
According to BBC Ukraine, a Ukrainian source reported that the F-16 was shot down by Russian missile.
The source stated, “The Russians launched a total of three missiles at the aircraft. It was either a guided surface-to-air missile from an S-400 system or an R-37 air-to-air missile.” It also dismissed the possibility of friendly fire, noting that Ukrainian air defenses were not active in the area at the time.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes how Russia managed to down F-16 in Ukraine ?
#defenseupdates #f16ukraine #ukrainewar
Chapters:
0:00 TITLE
00:11 INTRODUCTION
01:50 SPONSORSHIP – NordVPN
02:24 F-16 for UKRAINE
04:26 R-37M AIR to AIR MISSILE
06:05 S-400 AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM
Content Creator – Defense Updates
