Kyiv: A top Ukrainian pilot lost his life as a US-built F-16 fighter jet crashed. The incident reportedly took place on Monday. It is still not clear whether the crash was because of the Russian fire. There are contradictory reports about the development. The exact reason of the incident will be investigated. Oleksiy Mes, also known as “Moonfish, was killed in the crash, reported CNN.
The pilot's death was considered a major blow to Ukraine as he was one of the few pilots trained to fly F-16 jets, reported the media house. Several videos of the crash also surfaced online. However, the authenticity of these videos can not be verified.
The Ukrainian Air Force has not yet commented on the reports of the crash. The incident took place after a long-awaited arrival of F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine almost after 2.5 years of Russian military aggression against the east European country.
Russia staged a "massive" missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Monday, Ukraine's Air Force commander said as reported by Reuters. Again on Tuesday, Russian forces carried out the attack.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said that F-16 jets were used to repel the attack the previous day and they showed good results, reported the news agency.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian President announced that his country had started flying F-16s for operations within the country.
(With inputs from Reuters)