Zelensky Announces Western Supplied F-16 Shot Down, Pilot Killed

In a rare moment, Ukraine’s military as well as President Zelensky have announced that a Western-supplied F-16 fighter jet was shot down Saturday while conducing operations over Ukraine. Zelensky confirmed the pilot’s death in an announcement. 

The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) command has identified the that 26-year-old fighter pilot Pavlo Ivanov was killed during a combat mission in an F-16 Viper fighter aircraft.

Ukraine has not released details or the location of the plane downing, but both Russian and Ukrainian military bloggers have described the F-16 Viper was struck by a surface-to-air missile.

There’s been some speculation that it may have been a ‘friendly fire’ incident – but these details aren’t known at this point. The military’s statement said that the country’s F-16 pilots operate “in incredibly difficult conditions” and that the pilot died while “defending his native land from the occupiers,” according to a translation.

This only the second officially revealed downing of a Western-supplied F-16. “Saturday’s loss is only the second confirmed F-16 loss that Ukraine has faced, delivering a symbolic blow to Kyiv’s forces,” Newsweek writes.

“The F-16 aircraft are more advanced than the Soviet-era aircraft Ukraine’s forces had been using for much of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war that began in February 2022. The aircrafts delivery from European allies was also hoped to change the battlefield calculus,” the report notes.

A Ukrainian Air Force message said there will be an investigation: “All the circumstances of the tragedy are being established by an interdepartmental commission,” it said.

Zelensky’s message posted to social media in English and Ukrainian began as follows:

Today, Captain Pavlo Ivanov was tragically killed during an F-16 combat mission. The guy was only 26. My condolences to his family and to all of Pavlo’s brothers-in-arms.

The first known downing of an F-16 over Ukraine happened last summer:

It is the second confirmed death of a Ukrainian F-16 pilot. On August 26, 2024, Oleksii “Moonfish” Mes, was killed when he was reportedly responding to a Russian missile attack.

He had visited the United States in 2022 to lobby for the aircraft to be sent to Ukraine. In May 2023, the Biden administration allowed other countries to provide Kyiv with the U.S.-made aircraft.

The F-16 program has been ultra controversial as pilots were hastily trained in both Europe and the United States. Moscow has complained that F-16s are actually capable of carrying NATO nukes, and so has warned a mishap could lead to WW3.

How many experienced F-16 pilots does Ukraine have left? pic.twitter.com/3BSOoaO3TL

— Gabe (@GabeZZOZZ) April 12, 2025

Russia has vowed to destroy the F-16s both in the air and on the ground, and as even in the recent past warned that if they take off from neighboring countries then those European bases are fair game for attack. This would certainly spark direct conflict with the Western military alliance.