Ukraine F-16 Fighter Jet Crashes, Pilot Killed

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Facts

  • Ukraine's Army General Staff confirmed Thursday that one of the at least six F-16 fighter jets Kyiv had reportedly received from NATO allies to fight against Russia crashed on Monday during a massive Russian aerial attack.[1][2][3]
  • The pilot, Colonel Alexei 'Moonfish' Mes, was killed in the incident, which happened after Russia launched more than 200 missiles and drones at Ukraine. Mes reportedly destroyed three cruise missiles and one drone before the aircraft went down.[4][5]
  • The crash is being investigated by the defense ministry as well as US experts. Initial reports indicate that the jet likely crashed due to pilot error or mechanical failure. However, Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya claims that a US-made Patriot missile downed the F-16.[6][7]
  • Bezuglaya alleged that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been falsely describing the incident as 'a crash,' claiming the jet was downed by a Ukrainian Patriot air defense system in a friendly fire incident due to 'a lack of coordination between the [military] units.'[8]
  • Ukraine's F-16s are deployed along with the on-ground units of the anti-aircraft missile systems, such as Patriot and Nasams, and help defend against Russian glide bombs. NATO countries have reportedly pledged 65 F-16s to Ukraine, including the Netherlands with a commitment of 24.[9]
  • The crash, the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, comes just weeks after the first of a batch of F-16s arrived in Ukraine. This also comes as Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to present a 'victory plan' to US Pres. Joe Biden next month.[10][5]
  • Meanwhile — reportedly as a reaction to the Ukrainian operation in Russia's Kursk region that's ongoing in the backdrop of Zelenskyy's 'victory plan' concept — 100 Russian paramilitary soldiers in Burkina Faso will be departing the African nation for immediate redeployment in the Kursk war zone.[10][11]

Sources: [1]NBC, [2]Wsj, [3]UKRINFORM, [4]Euronews, [5]Al Jazeera, [6]Firstpost, [7]US News & World Report, [8]TASS, [9]BBC News (a), [10]BBC News (b) and [11]BBC News (c).

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RT. The F-16s are no silver bullet or a magic pill. They would neither deny Russia control over the skies nor give Ukraine an upper hand on the battlefield as they will be consistently destroyed by most modern Russian combat aircraft. The crash of the fighter jet on its soil shows Ukraine is in rough shape and it's incompetent in managing Western prowess or tipping the scales.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Washington Post. Whether the F-16 crash was caused by friendly fire, Russian fire, or human error, the loss of its strategically important F-16 jet and the death of its star pilot shouldn't result in Ukraine losing its momentum against Russia. The West must keep its trust in Ukraine and allow it to use long-range missiles to hit targets further into Russia to deter the Kremlin from reaching its battlefield goals and defeat it once and for all.

Predictions