The F-16 warplanes that were donated by the Western countries have crashed
Ukraine and the F-16 jets: How many planes will you need to win in the next war? Comment on Ukrainian Prime Minister Adam Kingzinger
Military analysts say the planes will not be a game-changer in the war, given Russia’s massive air force and sophisticated air-defense systems. The Ukrainian officials welcomed the supersonic jets because they offer an opportunity to hit back at Russia.
The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where they arrived at the end of last month. The warplanes are believed to have been delivered.
Belgium, Denmark the Netherlands and Norway — all NATO members — have committed to providing Ukraine with more than 60 of the planes. That number is dwarfed by the Russian jet fighter fleet, which is around 10 times larger.
Authorities in the capital, Kyiv, said debris of destroyed drones fell in three districts of the city, causing minor damage to civilian infrastructure but no injuries.
The air force of the country said that Russia had once again launched a heavy aerial attack on it, firing missiles and scores of drones.
“When I met with Ukraine pilots Juice and Moonfish I had a sick feeling they wouldn’t make it through the war,” former U.S. congressman Adam Kingzinger posted on “X”, formerly known as Twitter. They fought hard for Ukraine and the F16.
The F-16 jet went down Monday, and a detailed analysis has already been conducted into why.
In the meantime, Ukraine’s Army General Staff acknowledged Thursday Ukraine’s involvement in strikes this week on oil depots deep inside Russia, where blazes broke out.
Drone attacks on the Sevastopol peninsula: Russian air strikes and the Soviet-era warplanes in Ukraine are still fighting in the West
The Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhayev added that four Ukrainian aerial drones and three sea drones were destroyed “at a significant distance” from the peninsula’s shore.
If defense forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aviation at their bases, the attack wouldn’t have happened. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian officials are increasingly vocal about their insistence that Western nations support their war effort, should they ever need to target Russia with long-range weapons.
The F-16s can fly up to twice the speed of sound and have a maximum range of more than 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers). Modern weapons are used by NATO countries.
U.S. President Joe Biden granted authorization in August 2023 for the U.S.-built warplanes to be sent to Ukraine. That came after months of pressure from Kyiv and internal debate in the U.S. administration where officials feared the move could escalate tensions with the Kremlin.
Ukraine has until now been using Soviet-era warplanes, and its pilots underwent intense training on the F-16s in the West for months. The usual training period is three years.
U.S. arms manufacturing and air-defense systems have been destroyed, criticized by the Ukrainian parliament, and blamed by a Ukrainian lawmaker
Oleshchuk accused Bezuhla of defaming the air force and discrediting U.S. arms manufacturers and said that he hoped she would face legal consequences for her claims.
There were six deaths, including a 14-year-old girl on a playground, and 47 other people wounded in a Russian attack on the city of Kharkiv.
One of the bombs hit a 12-story apartment block, setting the building ablaze and trapping at least one person on an upper floor. Emergency crews searching for survivors feared the structure could collapse.
In other developments, Ukrainian rockets hit the Russian city of Belgorod and its surroundings on late Friday, killing five people and injuring 37, said regional govenor Vyacheslav Gladkov. The region borders northern Ukraine ans comes under drone or artillery attacks almost daily.
Shortly before he was dismissed, Oleshchuk wrote in a post that they must understand what happened and who is responsible.
On the ground, the Russian army is making slow but gradual progress in its drive into eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces are holding ground in the Kursk border region of western Russia after a recent incursion.
The EU foreign policy chief said ministers agreed to add 15,000 more by the end of the year.
“The training has to be shortened and adapted to the Ukrainian training needs,” Borrell said. The EU is set to set up a liaison cell in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv to make training more effective.
The dismissal came the same day that Oleshchuk criticized a lawmaker who was deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament’s defense committee for her claims that the F-16 was downed by a air-defense system. The Ukranian has received a few U.S.-made systems.
The commander of the air force was fired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, four days after an F-16 warplane died during a Russian bombardment.
