Ukraine has lost the second F-16 fighter. The pilot died

The air forces of Ukraine reported the loss of the American fighter F-16. The pilot-26-year-old Pavel Ivanov-died during the combat mission today, April 12.

“Ukrainian pilots work at the maximum of human and technical capabilities, each time risking their lives when performing combat missions. Pavel was one of them. All circumstances of the tragedy are established by the Interdepartmental Commission, which has already begun its work, ”the report said.

The death of Pavel Ivanov was confirmed by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Today, in a battle on the F-16, unfortunately, captain Pavel Ivanov died. 26 years old to the guy. My condolences to the family, all the brothers Paul. The military reports were needed in this combat situation. We find out all the circumstances. ”

This is the second officially confirmed loss of the F-16. In August 2024, Ukraine lost the first F-16 during the reflection of a massive missile blow. The pilot Aleksey Mess died. Later The Wall Street Journal has published a material in which the possible cause of the disaster is called Friendly Fire. According to the publication, the plane could be shot down by fire from the Patriot anti -aircraft complex, allegedly by mistake. Officially, Ukraine did not confirm this version. After the disaster, the commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was resigned Nikolai Oleshchuk.

The Russian media reported the larger number of destroyed F-16, but this data was not confirmed. In particular, propaganda resources wrote in October 2024, which of the six F-16s transferred to Ukraine, five were lost without making productive sorties. Also in September 2024 it was reported that the Russian military, “allegedly destroyed four F-16 fighters,” but no evidence was also presented.

In December 2024, Ukraine received a second batch of F-16 fighters from Denmark. In total, Denmark was going to transfer 19 F-16 fighters to Ukraine.