Ukrainian F-16 Pilot Killed in One in all Russia’s Largest Airstrikes So Far

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A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed in a single day whereas defending the nation from one of many largest Russian air assaults thus far, officers mentioned Sunday.

Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustymenko, 31, died after his fighter jet was broken throughout an operation to intercept Russian missiles and drones, Ukraine’s Air Force reported .

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Throughout the protection operation, Ustymenko, a first-class pilot, destroyed seven enemy air targets aboard his F-16 earlier than his plane sustained essential harm. He managed to steer his jet away from populated areas however was unable to eject in time.

“He died like a hero,” Ukraine’s Air Drive mentioned in an announcement, providing condolences to his household.

The in a single day assault on June 29 was a mixed strike involving 537 air targets - cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles, in addition to Shahed-type drones, in line with Ukraine’s Air Force and monitoring teams.

The assault included:

477 Shahed-type assault drones and decoy UAVs, launched from Russian territory and occupied Crimea; 4 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles from Russia’s Tambov area; 7 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles from Voronezh area and Crimea; 41 Kh-101 and Iskander-Okay cruise missiles from Saratov, Kursk, and Bryansk areas; 5 Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea; 3 S-300 guided missiles from Russia’s Kursk area. Ukrainian air defenses, together with fighter plane, anti-aircraft missile items, digital warfare methods, and cell fireplace teams, had been activated throughout the nation. As of 8:30 a.m., Ukrainian forces had destroyed or neutralized 475 enemy targets, together with:

211 Shahed drones shot down, with an extra 225 drones suppressed by digital warfare; 1 Iskander ballistic missile shot down; 33 Kh-101/Iskander-Okay cruise missiles shot down, one neutralized by digital methods; 4 Kalibr cruise missiles shot down. Particles from downed targets was recorded in not less than eight places, whereas six areas reported energetic air assaults.

The missile assault lasted almost three hours, whereas the drone assault continued for nearly 10 hours.

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A number of areas had been focused, together with Kremenchuk, Poltava, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Cherkasy, Lviv, and the capital, Kyiv.

Dozens of explosions had been reported in Kremenchuk alone, the place each missiles and drones struck. An industrial facility within the Poltava area caught fireplace because of this, officials said .

In Zaporizhzhia, a production site was damaged , although no casualties had been reported. Three individuals had been injured in Cherkasy after missiles hit civilian infrastructure, according to regional authorities.

In Lviv, officers mentioned essential infrastructure was focused, however no civilian accidents or main harm to residential areas occurred. Explosions had been additionally heard in Kyiv, the place air protection methods had been energetic, although additional particulars weren't instantly offered.

Ustymenko is the third Ukrainian F-16 pilot to die in fight since Ukraine launched the Western fighter jets into its arsenal final 12 months.

The primary fatality occurred on August 26, 2024, when Lt. Col. Oleksii “Moonfish” Mes died after his F-16 crashed whereas intercepting a Russian missile and drone assault. One other pilot, Pavlo Ivanov , was killed throughout a fight mission in April 2025.

Ukrainian pilots proceed to hold out harmful missions beneath fixed threat as Russia’s full-scale invasion, now in its third 12 months, reveals no signal of ending.