A Ukrainian F-16 pilot was killed in combat on Saturday, marking Ukraine’s second such loss since receiving these American-designed fighter jets in 2024.
“On 12 April 2025, Pavlo Ivanov, 26, was killed while piloting an F-16 during a combat mission,” announced the Ukrainian Air Force. “He was killed in combat defending his homeland against the Russian invaders,” continued the statement on Telegram.
The military did not specify the exact circumstances of his death or the status of the aircraft, stating that the “circumstances of the tragedy” are being investigated by a commission.
“Almost daily, F-16 pilots conduct combat missions in various zones under incredibly difficult conditions to support airstrike groups and hit enemy targets,” the military added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy extended his condolences to Ivanov’s family and “comrades-in-arms” in a separate statement.
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In early August 2024, Kyiv received its first batch of F-16 fighters delivered by Western allies, after a two-year request for these aircraft. A few days later, at the end of August, the military reported that an F-16 had crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, killing its pilot. Until now, this was Kyiv’s only announced loss of an F-16 pilot.
The military uses these jets primarily to destroy Russian missiles launched incessantly at Ukrainian territory since the invasion began in 2022. In mid-March, Zelenskyy announced the arrival of “several” additional F-16s but did not specify the exact number.
On the night from Friday to Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that Moscow had launched 88 drones and decoy drones at its territory, claiming to have repelled the attack using aircraft, anti-aircraft missiles, and electronic jammers.
According to the report, the attack affected the regions of Kharkiv (northeast), Kyiv, Odessa (south), Dnipropetrovsk (centre-east), and Donetsk (east).
These drone strikes injured at least three people in Kyiv and one person in Kharkiv, according to local authorities.
