Ukrainian F-16 pilot killed while repelling large Russian aerial attack

Australia Broadcast Center

20 hours ago

A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot has died in a crash while repelling a Russian night-time attack that involved hundreds of drones and missiles, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.
It was Ukraine's third such loss of an F-16 since it first deployed the US-made jets last year, with Moscow intensifying its air barrages.
Kyiv has not revealed the size of its F-16 fleet, but they have become a central and heavily used part of Ukraine's defences.
"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," Ukraine's air force said on Telegram.
The air force said the pilot did everything he could and flew the jet away from a settlement, but did not have time to eject.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for more support from Washington and Western allies to bolster Ukraine's air defences after the attack, which damaged homes and infrastructure across the country and injured at least 12 people, according to local authorities.
In Kyiv, families huddled in metro stations for shelter after air raid sirens rung out.
Machine-gun fire and explosions were heard across the capital, as well as in the western city of Lviv, where such attacks are less common.
The Ukrainian military said Russia had launched a total of 477 drones and 60 missiles of various types into Ukraine overnight.
"Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capability to launch massive strikes," Mr Zelenskyy said on X.
Meanwhile, Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency said one person was killed by a Ukrainian drone in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Luhansk region.
Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not attack civilian targets.
Ukraine says recent attacks by Russia highlight the need for further support from Washington, which under President Donald Trump has not committed to new military aid for Ukraine.
Mr Trump said he was considering a Ukrainian request for more Patriot missile batteries after he met Mr Zelenskyy at a NATO summit last Wednesday.
"This war must be brought to an end — pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection," the Ukrainian president said on Sunday after the attack.
He added that Ukraine was ready to buy American air defence systems, and was counting on "leadership, political will, and the support of the United States, Europe, and all our partners".
Russia has launched large-scale strikes on Ukrainian cities every few days over recent weeks, killing dozens of civilians, injuring hundreds more, and causing widespread damage.
During the latest barrage, explosions were heard in Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and the Ivano-Frankivsk regions, witnesses and regional governors said.
The Ukrainian military said air strikes were recorded in six locations.
Eleven people, including two children, were injured in the central Cherkasy region, its governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram.
Three multi-storey buildings and a college were damaged in the attack, he said.
Also on Sunday, Ukraine's presidential website said Mr Zelenskyy had signed a decree beginning the country's withdrawal from the Ottawa Convention, which bans the production and use of anti-personnel landmines.
Ukraine ratified the convention in 2005.
A senior Ukrainian lawmaker, Roman Kostenko, said that parliamentary approval is still needed to withdraw from the treaty.
"This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded. Russia is not a party to this convention and is massively using mines against our military and civilians," Mr Kostenko, secretary of the Ukrainian parliament's committee on national security, defence and intelligence, said on his Facebook page.
"We cannot remain tied down in an environment where the enemy has no restrictions," he added.
Reuters/ABC