The Kyiv Independent launches YouTube series
Skip to content
Edit post

F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine unlikely shot down by 'friendly fire,' NYT suggests

by Kateryna Hodunova and The Kyiv Independent news desk September 1, 2024 3:39 PM 2 min read
An F-16 fighter aircraft performs during the Antidotum airshow in Leszno, Poland on June 22, 2024. (Sergei GAPON/AFP via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

"Friendly fire" from a Patriot missile battery is unlikely to have caused the downing of a U.S.-made F-16 fighter jet, the New York Times reported on Aug. 31, citing two undisclosed senior U.S. military officials.

Ukraine's General Staff confirmed on Aug. 29 that the F-16, which had been recently delivered to the country and was being operated by pilot Oleksii Mes, had crashed while defending against a mass Russian drone and missile attack on Aug. 26. Mes was killed in the crash.

The cause of the accident remains unclear, but early investigation suggests that a Patriot anti-aircraft system shot out the F-16, The Telegraph reported on Aug. 31.

American and Ukrainian investigators are looking at different versions of the crash, including mechanical failure or pilot error, according to the NYT.

Following the F-16 crash, President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Aug. 30. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that his removal was not connected to the deadly accident.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry has also established a special commission to investigate the cause of the crash. Oleshchuk said that Ukraine had received a preliminary report from the U.S., which he said is now part of the investigation.

At the same time, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said on Aug. 29 that she was "not aware of any assistance or requests for assistance from the Ukrainian side to us about this particular incident."

Singh declined to discuss the crash in more detail, repeatedly saying that such questions should be referred to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine received its first F-16s at the beginning of August, a year after its allies formed the fighter jet coalition at the NATO summit in Vilnius to support Kyiv with training and aircraft.

How Ukraine’s military has changed since it last paraded through the streets of Kyiv
On Aug. 24, 2021, Ukraine’s military finest paraded through the streets of Kyiv in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the country’s Independence Day. It would be the last time such an event was held, with Russia’s full-scale invasion meaning everything on display would be put to the test, with

News Feed

2:49 AM

Russia struck passenger bus in Sumy Oblast, injuring 3.

In the Richky community of Ukraine's northeastern Sumy district, Russian forces used a drone to drop an explosive device on a passenger bus. The explosion injured three civilians and damaged the bus, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Oct. 5.
7:50 PM

Russian attack on Kherson injures 4.

Russian forces carried out a drone attack in the Dripro district of Kherson on October 5, leaving four civilians injured, local authorities reported.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.