Ukraine F-16 pilot killed while repelling Russian attack
KYIV—A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot was killed while repelling a Russian attack that involved hundreds of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, authorities said on Sunday, as Moscow intensifies night time air barrages.
The pilot of the Ukrainian F-16 jet did everything he could and flew the jet away from a settlement but did not have time to eject, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
“The pilot used all of his onboard weapons and shot down seven air targets. While shooting down the last one, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude,” the Air Force said on the Telegram messenger.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more support from the West to bolster Ukraine’s air defenses after the attack, which damaged homes and infrastructure and injured at least seven people.
Ukraine lost its third F-16 fighter jet since the start of the war while repelling the attack, the military said.
Nonstop
“Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capability to launch massive strikes. This week alone, there have been more than 114 missiles, over 1,270 drones and nearly 1,100 glide bombs,” Zelenskyy said on X platform.
The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched 477 drones and 60 missiles to Ukraine overnight while Ukrainian forces destroyed 211 drones and 38 missiles.
