&w=3840&q=100)
Ukrainian F-16 jet, pilot shot down as Russia launches massive aerial attack
A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot has died after his jet crashed while trying to stop a major Russian air attack involving hundreds of drones and missiles. The attack caused damage across the country as Russia continues intense night-time strikes. read more
The photograph shows an F-16 fighter plane from Poland during an air policing mission along with a Nato allied aircraft on March 24, 2022. (Representative Image, Credit: Reuters)
A Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot was killed after his plane crashed while trying to stop a large Russian air attack, officials said on Sunday. The attack involved hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, as Russia continues heavy night-time strikes in the fourth year of the war.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy honoured the pilot, Maksym Ustymenko, by posthumously awarding him the title of Hero of Ukraine, the country's highest honour.
Zelenskyy also urged the United States and other Western allies to provide more help to strengthen Ukraine's air defences. The latest attack damaged homes and infrastructure across the country and injured at least 12 people, according to local officials.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Cities under fire
In Kyiv, families took shelter in metro stations as air raid sirens sounded. Gunfire and explosions were heard in the capital and in the western city of Lviv, where such attacks are less frequent. The governor of Lviv region, which borders Poland, said critical infrastructure was targeted in the raid.
Ukraine has now lost three F-16 jets since it began flying the American-made aircraft last year. The government has not disclosed the exact number of F-16s in its fleet, but these jets have become an important part of Ukraine's defence.
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.
F-16 limitations in drone warfare
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.'
Scale of the Russian assault
The Ukrainian military said in total Russia launched 477 drones and 60 missiles of various types against 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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
26 minutes ago
- Mint
India must watch out as the world's security architecture shudders and shifts
Gift this article The annual meeting of Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, took place in The Hague last week against the backdrop of a world moving towards a new and fluid security architecture. Thirty of Nato's 32 current members are European, with the US and Canada being its two North American members. The annual meeting of Nato, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, took place in The Hague last week against the backdrop of a world moving towards a new and fluid security architecture. Thirty of Nato's 32 current members are European, with the US and Canada being its two North American members. Born in 1949 soon after World War II, the original raison d'être of Nato was containment of the Soviet Union and its role as a hedge against the remilitarization of Germany. Once West Germany joined in 1955, the second objective was dropped. After the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, Germany was reunited in 1990 and the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Nato's purpose was lost for nearly two decades. With Vladimir Putin's rise in Russia at the beginning of the 21st century and particularly after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Nato members found common cause again, and the alliance regained some of its mojo. The Ukrainian conflict that began in 2022 united Nato again. Finland and Sweden, which had remained outside for seven decades, have joined the alliance since. Also Read: Geopolitics: Brace for a global shake-up now that Trump has rattled Nato Beginning with Donald Trump's first US presidency in 2017 and continuing into his second one now, Washington has been indifferent towards Ukraine and shown an unexplained sympathy for Russia's position. President Trump has also publicly declared his ambivalence towards Article 5 of Nato, its 'collective defense" clause that states that an attack against any member requires all members to come to its aid. Whether Trump's disposition is just a threat aimed at making European members increase their contributions to Nato remains unclear. Nato is resourced through the direct and indirect national contributions of its members. Nato's common funds are composed of direct contributions to collective budgets and programmes. National contributions, the largest component of Nato funding, include the forces and capabilities held by each member country that can be provided to Nato for deterrence and defence activities and military operations. Direct funds enable Nato to maintain its capabilities and run the entirety of the organization and its military commands. Nato has three principal common-funded budgets: the civil budget (funding the Nato headquarters), military budget (funding the Nato Command Structure) and the Nato Security Investment Programme (funding military infrastructure and capabilities). For 2025, its direct funds amount to about $5.4 billion, of which the US contributes about 16% (an identical amount is contributed by Germany). If all 30 European countries were to do it, annual defence spending would double from $380 billion today to about $750 billion. The latter number is just a bit lower than the current US defence spending and comparable to China's unofficial level. The summit ended with a firm commitment from Nato allies to spend 5% of GDP, up from today's 2% floor. Whether or not America officially quits Nato, even if it psychologically 'checks out,' the security architecture of Europe would change dramatically without an assured American backstop. At the same time, there are tensions among European Nato members, with Hungary publicly supporting Russia and Turkey playing a nuanced ménage-à-trois game. The new nationalist president of Poland is also likely to hold a more matrix-determined position than his predecessor. Also Read: Nato's endgame on Ukraine will need regime change in Moscow While there are other multi-country strategic groupings like the Quad, made up of the US, India, Japan and Australia, and Aukus, made up of Australia, the US and UK, no other multi-country alliance has shown the commitment and staying power of Nato (till Trump came along). Even traditional alliances have become more situation-dependent in recent times. China has generally supported Pakistan and Russia has supported India since Cold War times. At the same time, China has supported Russia on the Ukraine War. During the recent Operation Sindoor, both Russia and the US were ambivalent in their support of India. Turkey, while pursuing its own calculus, has held positions that are inimical to Indian interests in recent years. Even more recently, Iran must have been surprised that Russia did not come to its defence more publicly during its 12-day conflict with Israel. Also Read: Mint Explainer: Sweden set to join NATO after Turkey backs off Alert to the possibility that a US commitment to their security is no longer reliable (and that the US may even turn hostile), countries from Japan and South Korea to Germany are re-arming themselves. In addition to nuclear-equipped France and the UK, Nato's nuclear sharing arrangements extend to Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. Beyond Nato, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) promulgated in 1969, with 191 current members, is likely to lose some members over the coming years. India is entering a phase where it will have to become far more self-reliant, even as it partners with Russia, the US and others on a context-specific basis. When India purchases defence systems, it will have to insist on technology transfers, source-code access and the interoperability of these platforms with locally developed missile systems. P.S: 'If you have one true friend, then you have more than your share," said clergyman Thomas Fuller. The author is chairman, InKlude Labs. Read Narayan's Mint columns at Topics You May Be Interested In
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Judges rule against human rights groups claim that the UK is illegally arming Israel
LONDON — Human rights groups lost their legal challenge Monday to the British government's decision to supply Israel with parts for F-35 fighter jets and other military equipment. The Palestinian group Al-Haq and the U.K.-based Global Legal Action Network alleged that the government broke domestic and international law and was complicit in atrocities against Palestinians by allowing essential components for the warplanes to be supplied to Israel. The government last year suspended about 30 of 350 existing export licenses for equipment deemed to be for use in the conflict in Gaza because of a 'clear risk' the items could be used to violate international humanitarian law. Equipment included parts for helicopters and drones. But an exemption was made for some licenses related to components of F-35 fighter jets, which are indirectly supplied to Israel through the global spare parts supply chain and have been linked to bombing the Gaza Strip. While rights groups argued the U.K. shouldn't continue to export parts through what they call a 'deliberate loophole' given the government's own assessment of Israel's compliance with international humanitarian law, the government said the parts were distributed to a collaboration involving the U.S. and six other partners to produce the jets. Components manufactured in the U.K. are sent to assembly lines in the U.S., Italy and Japan that supply partners — including Israel — with jets and spare parts, the court said. Two High Court judges ruled that the issue was one of national security because the parts were considered vital to the defense collaboration and the U.K.'s security and international peace. They said it wasn't up to the courts to tell the government to withdraw from the group because of the possibility the parts would be supplied to Israel and used to violate international humanitarian law in Gaza. 'Under our constitution that acutely sensitive and political issue is a matter for the executive, which is democratically accountable to Parliament and ultimately to the electorate, not for the courts," Justices Stephen Males and Karen Steyn wrote in a 72-page judgment. Compared with major arms suppliers such as the U.S. and Germany, British firms sell a relatively small amount of weapons and components to Israel. The Campaign Against Arms Trade nonprofit group estimates that the U.K. supplies about 15% of the components in the F-35 stealth combat aircraft, including its laser targeting system.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
36 minutes ago
- First Post
Russia only 12 km from key Ukraine city, its troops outnumber Kyiv forces 3-to-1
After clearing out Ukrainian positions in Russia's Kursk region earlier this year, Moscow has shifted its focus across the border, with an estimated 50,000 troops pushing toward Sumy, according to a report read more In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defence Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, a Russian soldier prepares Giatsint-B 152 mm field gun to fire towards Ukrainian position on an undisclosed location in Ukraine. AP File Russian forces are now just 12 kilometers from the key northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, using their roughly 3-to-1 manpower advantage to ramp up attacks along the front. According to The Wall Street Journal report, after clearing out Ukrainian positions in Russia's Kursk region earlier this year, Moscow has shifted its focus across the border, with an estimated 50,000 troops pushing toward Sumy. Ukrainian soldiers on the ground say they are being heavily outnumbered as the Kremlin continues to press its numerical edge in multiple sectors, added the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Their main strategy is to wear us down with their numbers.' The Wall Street Journal quoted Ukraine's top military commander Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy as saying. The Russian push toward Sumy comes amid rising frustration from President Donald Trump over the Kremlin's refusal to pursue a cease-fire. Despite ongoing talks between Ukrainian and Russian officials in Turkey in recent weeks, Moscow has escalated its missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities. In the latest barrage, described as the largest of the war in terms of munitions fired, Ukraine lost an F-16 fighter jet and its pilot overnight Sunday. Gen. Syrskiy told The Wall Street Journal that over the past year, the front line has extended by more than 100 miles and now spans over 750 miles from northeast to south, . Russian forces have been probing for weak spots, then striking hard when they find one, as they did in Sumy last month. In response, Ukrainian commanders have scrambled to plug gaps, often deploying elite units. Earlier this month, Ukraine sent in HUR commandos to stabilise the front. Since then, Russian gains in Sumy have largely stalled, and Ukrainian forces have retaken some ground. 'Now we're looking for ways to conduct our own assaults and push the enemy back,' WSJ quoted Timur, commander of the Timur Special Forces Unit, an elite unit of HUR that has been fighting in the region for several weeks, as saying. It isn't an easy task for Ukrainian forces, which are outnumbered nearly everywhere across the front. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD 'Their numbers are a big problem for us, though not enough to overrun us,' Kappa, commander of the Chimera unit of the Timur Special Forces Unit, told WSJ. 'The enemy is losing 300 to 400 people per day across the region. But they can deal with that level of casualties…They keep bringing in reserves.' Earlier this month, a dozen fighters from the Timur Special Forces Unit set out to assault a Russian-held village north of Sumy. But halfway there, in a tree-line trench, they collided with a Russian assault team moving in from the opposite direction. Outnumbered, they were pinned down for seven hours as Russian forces tried to encircle them, reported WSJ. 'It was the cruelest fight I've ever been in,' Mark, the Ukrainian team's 25-year-old platoon commander, was quoted as saying. 'They were attacking with infantry, drones, grenade launchers, machine guns, artillery, cluster munitions. Everything…We never had more than a five-minute break while they were regrouping,' Mark added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Mark said his team killed five Russian soldiers during the clash, usually enough to force a platoon to retreat. But these troops were better trained than others he'd faced, and they kept advancing, determined to take the trench. According to The Wall Street Journal, Helmet-cam footage shows a relentless firefight, gunfire crackling like popping corn. Mark called in mortar strikes while hugging the trench edge as artillery whistled overhead. One machine-gunner fired 5,500 rounds during the battle. Eventually, the team withdrew, crawling back through brush under mortar fire and drone strikes. All made it out, though three were shot and everyone suffered concussions, added the report. 'I'm really glad we got everyone out alive,' Mark said. 'We were in a really tough situation.' Still, soldiers in the area say holding Sumy is costing more lives than it should. During the six months Ukraine held ground in Russia's Kursk region, troops assumed defences were being fortified on the Ukrainian side of the border. But after a chaotic and costly retreat, they returned to find outdated trenches with no overhead cover from drones. In some cases, they're now digging fresh positions under enemy fire. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They also report that key areas now under Russian advance were left unmined. 'It's like they prepared for tank columns, not a battlefield where dozens of drones strike daily,' WSJ quoted one infantry commander named Kyrylo, who fought in Kursk and is now fighting in Sumy, as saying. 'Every single day a position isn't ready is a day someone might not come back.' Asked about fortifications last week, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said that the defensive lines in Sumy were being improved in threatened areas. 'Fortification is not just about concrete and trenches—it is an adaptive engineering system that takes the enemy's tactics into account and always serves one purpose: protecting our warriors,' he was quoted as saying. With inputs from agencies
