The Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost their first F-16 fighter jet, The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, August 29.
"A Ukrainian F-16 jet fighter was destroyed in a crash Monday, according to a U. S. official, just weeks after the first of the American-made aircraft arrived in Ukraine. Initial reports indicate the jet wasn't shot down by enemy fire, although the incident occurred during a massive Russian missile barrage across the country Monday,” the newspaper wrote.
The authors of the article said that the Ukrainian side did not confirm the loss of the fighter aircraft. Likewise, the Pentagon declined to comment and redirected the question to Kyiv.
Russian media reported earlier that on Monday, August 26, the Russian Armed Forces launched a missile strike on the Starokostiantyniv airfield in the Khmelnytsky region, where several F-16 fighter jets were stationed. Immediately after the strike, they took off and circled in the area for two to three hours. As soon as they returned to the airfield, the Russian military launched another strike, which resulted in the destruction of an F-16.
According to Shot Telegram channel, Washington was deliberately covering up the loss of the F-16 with a pilot error not to harm the reputation of the fighter, which the Americans call invulnerable.