Ukraine loses F-16 pilot in largest Russian attack
Kiev
A Ukrainian pilot was killed when his F-16 fighter jet was hit while defending against the heaviest Russian air attacks since the war began, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday.
An air force statement said that the pilot, a lieutenant colonel, did all he could to guide his stricken plane away from residential areas, but failed to eject in time. The pilot, born in 1993, reportedly downed seven targets before being hit.
'Unfortunately, we have suffered another painful loss,' the air force statement said.
Zelensky expressed his sympathies to the pilot's relatives. According to the air force report, Russia launched 537 drones, missiles and cruise missiles at Ukrainian territory overnight, causing injuries and severe damage to civilian infrastructure.
Ukrainian media said the number was the highest since the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. A residential block was hit in Smila, a city in the Cherkasy region to the south-east of Kiev. A child was injured, the local authorities reported. Zelensky repeated demands for greater international pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.
Last week, Russia attacked with 114 missiles, more than 1,270 drones and almost 1,100 glide bombs, he said.
'[Russian President Vladimir] Putin long ago decided to continue fighting, disregarding the appeals for peace from around the world,' Zelensky posted on Telegram.
He also stressed that Ukraine had to boost its air defences and said it was willing to buy US air defence systems.
The loss of pilots trained in the West on US F-16 fighter jets is seen as highly significant for Ukraine. Losses from F-16 squadrons have been relatively rare to date.
Ukraine moves to withdraw from anti-personnel mines treaty
Ukraine is looking at withdrawing from the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel land mines, following the lead of the Baltic states.
President Zelensky has signed a decree that puts his war-torn country on track to leave the treaty, Ukrainian lawmaker Roman Kostenko announced on Facebook on Sunday. The presidential office in Kiev also published the document later in the day.
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania recently notified the United Nations of their intent to leave the treaty. According to Kostenko, Ukraine's decision is a direct response to Russia's widespread use of anti-personnel mines against both military targets and civilians in its full-scale war against Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
'This is a step that the reality of war has long demanded,' said Kostenko, a member of the parliamentary defence committee who is also a military commander. 'We cannot remain bound when the enemy has no boundaries.' Kostenko added that the National Security and Defense Council had approved the decision before Zelensky signed the decree.
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