Moscow has reported the destruction of a US-designed warplane for the first time
Russian forces have shot down a US-designed F-16 fighter jet operated by Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
It is the first time that the Russian military has announced the destruction of an F-16 since Kiev’s Western backers began deliveries of the fourth-generation aircraft to Ukraine last summer.
“An F-16 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force was shot down by air defense means,” the ministry said in its daily briefing on Sunday without revealing any further details.
On Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force reported the loss of one of its F-16 fighters. An interdepartmental commission was then established to find out what caused the plane to go down, it added.
Vladimir Zelensky later confirmed that Ukrainian pilot Pavel Ivanov had been killed “during an F-16 combat mission.” He promised a “strong and precise” response, implying Russia was behind the destruction of the jet.
A government source told BBC Ukraine on Saturday that the F-16 had been shot down by the Russian military. “In total, the Russians fired three missiles at the plane. It was either a guided anti-aircraft missile from a S-400 ground-based system or an R-37 air-to-air missile,” the outlet claimed.
The source also ruled out friendly fire as a reason for the loss of the jet, claiming that Ukrainian air defenses have not been active in that area.
It marks the second confirmed loss of an F-16 by Ukraine. The first was destroyed and its pilot killed under unclear circumstances last August. The results of an investigation into the incident were never announced to the public. However, multiple media reports indicated that the plane was likely shot down by the country’s own anti-aircraft defenses by mistake.
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway pledged to supply Kiev with up to 80 F-16s after receiving permission to do so from the previous administration of US President Joe Biden, though most of them will take years to arrive. In 2024, Ukraine received about 18 aircraft.
The Kiev authorities once claimed that the US-designed jets would become a game-changer in the conflict with Russia. But since the loss of the first aircraft, their use in combat has been limited, with the F-16 being mainly deployed away from the contact line for air defense purposes.
