2024-08-30T12:21:00+03:00 Politics 2024-09-22T04:00:02+03:00

Ukrainian news

Pentagon refuses to comment on Ukraine's loss of first F-16 fighter jet

Pentagon refuses to comment on Ukraine's loss of first F-16 fighter jet

The US Department of Defense said it did not know the details of the loss of the first F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine and had not received requests for assistance, and after additional questions about the incident, declined to comment.

This was discussed at a briefing with Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh.

So, when asked whether Ukraine reported the loss of an F-16 to the United States and whether the United States knew the details of the incident, including the pilot, Singh said that she had seen the report, but did not have any additional information about it.

"I have seen the message. I am not aware of any assistance or request for assistance from the Ukrainian side regarding this particular incident. But I would advise you to contact the Ukrainians to learn more about the specific details regarding this pilot," she replied.

She also emphasized that she could not reveal the number of F-16 fighters in Ukraine and added that she had no more information about the loss of the aircraft.

"… It's not going to please you very much, but I'm just not going to get into the numbers of how many F-16s are in Ukraine. That's their topic of conversation. It also opens up a lot of operational security issues. So I'm just not going to be able to talk about that. As for the incident and the pilot, I will not be able to provide more information. This is really what Ukraine should be talking about. As you know, we trained pilots here in the United States," Singh said.

She emphasized that combat aviation in general is incredibly complex, and the Pentagon is proud to train some of the pilots in the U.S. and beyond, along with partners and allies through the UDCG.

She interrupted the next question about the F-16: "Thank you for the question, but I will not go into the details of this incident."

At the end of the briefing, Singh received several more questions, in particular about the possibility of "friendly fire" - in particular, the downing of an F-16 by the Patriot system.

"Again, I can't confirm. I've seen the report, I just can't confirm it. I don't have that level of credibility right now. So if that pilot was killed and was shot down by friendly fire, I can't talk about that. It's would really be something that Ukrainians should be talking about. The United States was not invited to participate in any investigation of this incident," she repeated.

Finally, she talked about the support of the fighter jets supplied to Ukraine by the United States and other members of the coalition.

"It's not just the United States. You have to remember that there's an air force coalition that's been put in place, and the U.S., of course, is part of that. So it's not just the United States that's providing support. Certainly, the American military works with the Ukrainians on what they need, be it maintenance, or telephone or remote technical support and assistance.

As for F-16 fighter tracking, I won't go into details. But we're certainly working with the pilots and the Ukrainian military to ensure that they can fly and operate these F-16s as best they can and that they do so safely. And we provide this support and continue training," she said.

That was the end of the briefing.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, today [August 29] the American publication The Wall Street Journal reported the loss of an F-16 fighter. According to the publication, this happened on August 26, when the aggressor country of russia launched a massive missile attack on Ukraine.

Subsequently, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the loss of the first F-16 fighter in Ukraine, as well as the death of the pilot.

At the same time, an unnamed representative of the US Department of Defense stated that among the possible reasons for the loss of the first F-16 fighter jet by Ukraine, pilot error and a technical malfunction are being considered, but it is not similar to the result of the aircraft being hit by the aggressor country of the russian federation.

Meanwhile, MP Maryana Bezuhla said that the F-16 fighter of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the loss of which became known today [August 29], was allegedly shot down as a result of a "friendly fire".

After that, the correspondent of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, former head of the public relations service of the Air Force, Yurii Ihnat called on the State Bureau of Investigation and the Security Service of Ukraine to deal with the statements of the member of the Verkhovna Rada Maryana Bezuhla regarding the loss of the first F-16 fighter.