One of the F-16 fighter jets provided to Ukraine by its Western allies was lost during a combat mission, the country’s Air Force said on Friday.
According to a statement from Ukraine’s Air Force Command, contact with the aircraft was lost around 3 a.m. local time on May 16. Preliminary reports indicated that the pilot had shot down three aerial targets and was engaging a fourth when an emergency occurred on board.
The pilot managed to steer the aircraft away from a populated area before ejecting safely, the Air Force said. He was located and evacuated by a search-and-rescue team. No further details were released.
Last month, the Air Force reported the death of Captain Pavlo Ivanov, who was killed while flying an F-16 during a combat mission. President Volodymyr Zelensky posthumously awarded him the title Hero of Ukraine. Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have downed a Ukrainian F-16, though it did not provide any details.
Ukraine received its first F-16s in early August 2024. Later that month, on August 26, it lost its first fighter jet during a large-scale Russian strike. The pilot, Oleksii Mes, was killed.