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One of the F-16 fighter jets sent from Nato allies to Ukraine has been destroyed, a Ukrainian military source has told the BBC.<\/p>\n
The aircraft went down amid a barrage of Russian missiles on Monday, killing pilot Oleksiy Mes, Ukraine’s military said. It marks the first loss of its kind since the planes were delivered earlier this month.<\/p>\n
The cause of the crash was not a direct result of an enemy missile strike, the Ukrainian military claims.<\/p>\n
It said the pilot destroyed three cruise missiles and one drone in Russia’s largest aerial attack to date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles,” the Ukrainian Air Force wrote in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life.”<\/p>\n
The statement did not specify the type plane involved, but a military source told the BBC the pilot was flying an F-16.<\/p>\n
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially confirmed on Tuesday the US-made F-16’s were being deployed to shoot down Russian drones and missiles.<\/p>\n
This week, he asked allies to allow Ukraine to use long range missiles to hit targets further into Russia.<\/p>\n
Dutch Chief of Defence Gen Otto Eichelsheim confirmed the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with 24 of the jets, in addition to more weapons. <\/p>\n
There will be no restrictions on their usage apart from complying with humanitarian law, he told a conference in Washington on Wednesday – meaning Kyiv could launch deeper strikes into Russian territory. <\/p>\n
Around 65 F-16s have been pledged by Nato countries since US President Joe Biden first authorised willing European allies to send them to Ukraine in August 2023.<\/p>\n
Ukraine’s F-16s work alongside a limited number of Western-supplied surface-to-air missile systems such as Patriot and Nasams which are already on the ground.<\/p>\n
They also help defend against Russian glide bombs – dumb munitions fitted with pop-out wing kits and guidance modules to deliver precision strike stand-off capabilities, similar to the JDAM munitions from the United States.<\/p>\n
The destruction of the aircraft is blow to Zelensky, who said he will deliver a “victory plan”<\/a> to US President Joe Biden next month.<\/p>\n He also revealed Ukraine had recently carried out the first successful test of a domestically-produced ballistic missile, but declined to share any more details.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n