Ukraine's F-16 fighter jet lost, pilot killed, Ukrainian military confirms

A Ukrainian pilot was killed and his F-16 fighter jet lost while repelling a large-scale Russian nighttime missile and drone attack, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.

It was the third such loss of an F-16 of the war, the military said.

“The pilot used all of his onboard weapons and shot down seven air targets. While shooting down the last one, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude,” the Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app.

It said the pilot did everything he could and flew the jet away from a settlement but did not have time to eject.

The military said Russia had launched 477 drones and 60 missiles of various types to Ukraine overnight and Ukrainian forces destroyed 211 drones and 38 missiles.

It said air strikes were recorded in six locations.

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Earlier, Ukraine’s air forces shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet on June 7, the Ukrainian military said.

“On June 7, 2025, as a result of a successful Air Force operation in the Kursk direction, a Russian Su-35 fighter jet was shot down,” the military said on the Telegram messenger.

Ukraine’s security agency, the SBU, conducted a large drone attack on over 40 Russian military aircraft last week, damaging or destroying tens of Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers, which Russia uses to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine.