Ukraine F-16 pilot killed in large-scale Russian attack, Zelenskiy calls for US help, World News
KYIV/LVIV, Ukraine — A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot died in a crash while repelling a Russian air attack that involved hundreds of drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, authorities said on Sunday (June 29), as Moscow intensifies night-time air barrages in the fourth year of war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy praised the pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, and bestowed upon him posthumously the title of Hero of Ukraine, the country's highest decoration.
He also called for more support from Washington and Western allies to bolster Ukraine's air defences after the attack, which damaged homes and infrastructure across the country and injured at least 12 people, according to local authorities.
In Kyiv, families huddled in metro stations for shelter after air raid sirens rung out. Machine-gun fire and explosions were heard across the capital and in the western city of Lviv, where such attacks are less common.
The governor of the Lviv region, bordering Poland, said the raid targeted critical infrastructure.
Ukraine has now lost three F-16s since it began operating the US-made jets last year. Kyiv has not revealed the size of its F-16 fleet, but they have become a central and heavily used part of Ukraine's defences.
The pilot flew the damaged jet away from a settlement but had no time to eject before it crashed, the Ukrainian Air Force 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 Telegram.
Ukrainian military expert Roman Svitan, speaking earlier this month, said the F-16 was not ideally suited to all tasks in the war, particularly repelling drones which swarm Ukrainian cities, as it is better used against higher-speed targets.
Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said Ustymenko had been flying missions since the time of a campaign that began in 2014 against Russian-financed separatists who had seized parts of eastern Ukraine.
"He mastered four types of aircraft and had important results to his name in defending Ukraine," he said. "It is painful to lose such people."
The Ukrainian military said in total Russia launched 477 drones and 60 missiles of various types to Ukraine overnight. Ukrainian forces destroyed 211 of the drones and 38 missiles, it said, while 225 more drones were either lost due to electronic warfare or were decoys that carried no explosives.
Writing earlier on X, Zelenskiy said: "Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capability to launch massive strikes." He said Russia had launched around 114 missiles, 1,270 drones, and 1,100 glide bombs just in the past week.
Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency said one person was killed by a Ukrainian drone in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Luhansk region. Both Ukraine and Russia say they do not attack civilian targets. Political will
Ukraine says recent attacks highlight the need for further support from Washington, which under President Donald Trump has not committed to new military aid for Ukraine.
Trump said he was considering a Ukrainian request for more Patriot missile batteries after he met Zelenskiy at a Nato summit last Wednesday.
"This war must be brought to an end — pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection," Zelenskiy said in his X post. "Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defence — the thing that best protects lives."
He said Ukraine was ready to buy the American air defence systems and it counts on "leadership, political will, and the support of the United States, Europe, and all our partners."
Russia has launched large-scale strikes on Ukrainian cities every few days in recent weeks, causing widespread damage, killing dozens of civilians and injuring hundreds more.
During the latest barrage, explosions were heard in Kyiv, Lviv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and the Ivano-Frankivsk regions, witnesses and regional governors said. The Ukrainian military said air strikes were recorded in six locations.
Eleven people, including two children, were injured in the central Cherkasy region, the regional governor said on Telegram. Three multi-storey buildings and a college were damaged. One woman was injured in western Ivano-Frankivsk region.
Rescuers evacuated residents from apartment blocks in Cherkasy that had charred walls and broken windows.
[[nid:719608]]
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Canada drops digital tax that infuriated Trump to restart trade talks
Canada has withdrawn its digital services tax on technology companies such as Meta Platforms Inc. and Alphabet Inc. PHOTO: REUTERS Canada has withdrawn its digital services tax ( DST ) on technology companies such as Meta Platforms and Alphabet in a move to restart trade talks with the US. 'Rescinding the DST will allow the negotiations to make vital progress and reinforce our work to create jobs and build prosperity for all Canadians,' Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a social media post on June 29. On the afternoon of June 27, US President Donald Trump said he was ending all trade discussions with Canada, one of its largest trading partners, in retaliation for the digital tax. He also threatened to impose a fresh tariff rate within a week. Instead, Mr Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed the countries will restart negotiations and try to agree on a deal by July 21, according to a statement. For Canada, the economic stakes of those discussions are huge. About three-quarters of its exports go to the US, including the vast majority of its oil and many other commodities, as well as most of the cars and trucks it produces. But the US also has something on the line: Canada is the largest buyer of US products. In 2024 , the US exported about US $440 billion (S$561 billion) of goods and services to its northern neighbor and imported US $477 billion from it, according to US government data. The first payment for Canada's digital tax was supposed to be due on J une 30. The tax, which was passed into law i n 2024 by the previous government of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, was meant to charge 3 per cent of the digital services revenue a firm makes from Canadian users above C$20 million ( S$18.6 million) in a calendar year. It would have cost large technology companies billions of dollars. A number of countries, including the UK, has such taxes in place. Instead, Canada will suspend the payments that were due on J une 30 and will create legislation to repeal the digital tax entirely, the finance department said. Following Mr Trump's post, Canadian business groups and politicians reiterated their calls for the Mr Carney's government to drop the tax. Opponents had long argued the levy would increase the cost of digital services and invite retaliation from the US. But some saw the digital tax as a bargaining chip for Mr Carney's government in its negotiations with the US. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Scottish MPs raise fears of people being killed by seagulls amid spate of attacks
An MP said aggressive seagull behaviour is a real concern for many, including businesses and tourists. PHOTO: UNSPLASH Scottish MPs raise fears of people being killed by seagulls amid spate of attacks The Scottish government has said a seagull summit will be held to discuss ways to tackle the birds' aggressive behaviour, amid reports of multiple attacks on people and warnings that someone could be killed, the British media reported. A politician has even called for the abolition of a nature agency, which is responsible for the control and conservation of the birds, because of its conflict of interest. In a debate in the Scottish Parliament on June 26, MP Rachael Hamilton said Scots have been left 'scared, attacked and traumatised' by the seagulls' actions. She said 'aggressive' seagulls had attacked seven children within one month in 2025 in the town of Eyemouth alone, leaving a girl with injuries to the scalp and 'blood running down her face', The Scotsman newspaper reported. 'Aggressive seagull behaviour continues to cause a real concern amongst businesses, amongst tourists, amongst everybody that has anything to do along the harbour,' she said, referring to Eyemouth which is located in her constituency. 'And it is not just a seasonal nuisance. It is a serious, growing health risk. It's a safety risk, particularly for children and elderly residents.' Another MP, Mr Douglas Ross, warmed that people are at risk of losing their lives over the 'growing problem' of 'nuisance' gulls. He said while others would often 'smirk' when hearing that the Scottish Parliament is discussing the problems around gulls, the reality is that the birds' attack on people is an 'extremely serious issue'. He said voters in this Moray constituency have expressed worries of leaving their homes for fear of being 'divebombed', reported Sky News. Others, he said, suffered from lack of sleep and other health issues due to the noise caused by the birds. Mr Ross also blamed Scotland's nature agency NatureScot of having a conflict of interest. He pointed out the agency is responsible for both the licensing to control birds and the conservation of avians. 'The time has come to break up NatureScot. There is a clear conflict of interest in the fact they are responsible for considering licences to control gulls but are also responsible for protecting bird numbers,' said Mr Ross, adding that the government should take prompt action before someone was killed by a gull attack. Describing the issue as 'deadly serious', Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie promised to hold a seagull summit in the north of Scotland. He attributed the birds' behaviour to people feeding them, and called on people to stop doing so. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Pace of Ukraine talks hinges on efforts of Kyiv, Washington, Kremlin says
FILE PHOTO: The Russian flag flies on the dome of the Kremlin Senate building behind Spasskaya Tower in Moscow, Russia June 2, 2025. REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina/File photo Pace of Ukraine talks hinges on efforts of Kyiv, Washington, Kremlin says The pace of talks to resolve the war in Ukraine depends on Kyiv's position, the effectiveness of U.S. mediation, and the situation on the ground, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in remarks televised on Sunday. Five months into U.S. President Donald Trump's term, there is no clear end to the war Russia launched in February 2022 against its smaller neighbour, despite his 2024 campaign vow to end it in one day. Trump, who has pushed both sides towards ceasefire talks since his January inauguration, said on Friday he thinks "something will happen" about a settlement of the war. "A lot depends, naturally, on the position of the Kyiv regime," Peskov told Belarus 1 TV, the main state television channel in Russia's neighbour. "It depends on how effectively Washington's mediating efforts continue," he said, adding that the situation on the ground was another factor that could not be ignored. Peskov did not elaborate on what Moscow expects from Washington or Kyiv. Moscow has been demanding that Ukraine cede more land and abandon Western military support, conditions Kyiv calls unacceptable. While no date has been set for the next round of talks, Peskov said Russia hoped dates would become clear "in the near future." After a gap of more than three years, Russia and Ukraine held face-to-face talks in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2 that led to a series of prisoner exchanges and the return of their dead soldiers. They have made no progress towards a ceasefire, however. Their blueprints for a peace deal shared at the June 2 talks were "absolutely contradictory memorandums", Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday. Russia, which already controls about a fifth of Ukraine, continues to advance gradually, gaining ground in recent weeks in Ukraine's southeastern regions of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, and ramping up air attacks nationwide. Turkey, which hosted the previous round of talks, is ready to host them again, it said on Friday. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
