Ukraine confirmed the death of its F-16 fighter pilot

According to RCO News Agency, earlier, the American publication “Wall Street Journal” quoted an official of this country and reported that Ukraine has lost one of its donated F-16 fighter jets. This American publication claimed that this jet did not crash, but due to the pilot’s mistake, this fighter crashed.

On the other hand, so far, the US Ministry of Defense has refused to answer a question about reports that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet was destroyed.

However, this evening, the Russian News agency “Tass” reported that the Ukrainian Air Force wrote in a telegram: “Alexey Mes, the pilot of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has died.”

According to the statement of the Ukrainian Air Force, the pilot was killed in an aerial encounter on August 26.

CNN also reported that Mes was trained to fly F-16. According to this report written by quoting a source in the Ukrainian army, the pilot was killed as a result of the plane crash. This source told CNN that the cause of the plane crash was not the pilot’s fault.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on August 7 that the F-16 fighter jets will not become a magic pill that can influence the course of the war and “will be permanently destroyed by the Russian armed forces.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin also emphasized that the delivery of new weapons, including F-16 jets, to Kiev will not change the situation on the front, but will lead to a prolongation of the conflict.

He also noted that these fighters will be destroyed if they are handed over to the Ukrainian army, like other military equipment provided by the West.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the news of the downing of one of the few Ukrainian F-16 fighters is a big blow to Kiev, because the country had been trying to get these fighters for months.

Kiev hopes that these advanced Western aircraft will give its forces an edge on the battlefield.

Another American official announced that a total of 6 F-16 fighters have entered Ukraine so far.

The news of the downing of this fighter comes while recently, Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Berkelmans said that Kiev can use the F-16 jets transferred by the Netherlands, including over Russian territory, provided that the laws of war are respected.

Earlier, Ono Eikelsheim, the commander-in-chief of the Dutch army, said that the Dutch side will not impose restrictions on the use and range of the F-16 fighter jets that were transferred to Ukraine during the war with Russia.

According to TASS news agency, the Netherlands plays one of the main roles in the coalition supplying F-16 jets and pilots to Ukraine. As part of this initiative, the Dutch side plans to transfer 24 aircraft to Kyiv and provide another 18 for the needs of the European Training Center in Romania.

Earlier, The Times, quoting an anonymous source, announced that Ukraine had already received 6 F-16 fighter jets from the Netherlands.

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