KYIV, UKRAINE - The Ukrainian military told CNN Thursday that an America-provided F-16 was shot down in what is being described as a “friendly fire” incident. The incident reportedly took the life of one of Ukraine’s “top” pilots, Alexey Mes, callsign “Moonfish.” The incident occurred on Monday, August 26 as the Ukrainian Defense Forces sought to repel a Russian aerial offensive.
The crash, which occurred after what CNN said was a “long-awaited” acquisition, is being investigated and CNN’s source said “international experts” will be invited to participate in the probe.
Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya was quoted by Russia’s news agency TASS:
“According to my information, the F-16 of the Ukrainian pilot Alexey “Moonfish” Mes was shot down by the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to a lack of coordination between the [military] units,” she wrote on Telegram.
Bezuglaya slammed the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Air Force for initially describing the friendly fire incident as a “crash.”
“The culture of lies in the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as in other higher military headquarters, leads to the fact that the system of managing military decisions does not improve on the basis of truthful, consistently collected analytics, but deteriorates and even collapses, as is happening in the other directions,” she wrote.
Previously, an unidentified US official told the Wall Street Journal that the donated F-16 fighter wasn’t shot down, but the crash was instead caused by pilot error. The Ukrainian Air Force later confirmed the death of Mes, who was trained to fly F-16s. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said MEs was killed “in an aerial fight.”
Confirmed information is challenging to come by, with some claiming friendly fire and others claiming pilot error. US and Ukrainian officials told The Wall Street Journal that the F-16 crashed during combat over Ukraine. The incident comes after about a dozen F-16s were transferred to Ukraine’s armed forces.
“The pilot, Olesky Mes, died while helping to repel a massive Russian missile attack on Monday,” the officials said, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Initial reports indicate the jet wasn’t shot down by enemy fire, U.S. officials said.”
ZeroHedge reports the Russian offensive, carried out by missiles and drones, is one of the largest since the war started in February 2022, targeting 15 out of Ukraine’s 24 oblasts while taking out vital energy assets nationwide.
The Pentagon was initially contacted about the crash, however, deferred to Ukrainian officials, who finally acknowledged the crash and the pilot’s death on Thursday.
The loss of the $30 million jet just weeks after receiving the shipments “could prove highly embarrassing,” ZeroHedge wrote since Ukrainian officials touted the acquisition as a “game changer.”
Other observers believe acquiring the F-16s is too little, too late to counter Russia’s apparent clear advantage.
The loss of Mes and blame of pilot error doesn’t make sense to some since he was described “as a hero who successfully shot down multiple Russian missiles on Monday before the crash,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
“A person close to the Ukrainian military said the cause of the crash was unknown, and an investigation was underway,” the WSJ continued.
The Journal further notes that Mes was “key in helping spearhead” Ukraine’s lobbying efforts and public relations to get the F-16s:
Mes, callsign Moonfish, was one of Kyiv’s first pilots to be trained on the F-16. He was also one of the better-known Ukrainian pilots, appearing frequently in the media and visiting Washington to lobby the U.S. to send Ukraine the jet fighters. Mes met personally with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including in 2022 with then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill).
Mes often appeared with another prominent Ukrainian pilot, Andriy Pilshchykov, callsign “Juice,” who died in a training accident on Aug. 25, 2023. Two other pilots were killed in that incident, a midair collision.”
The death of Mes was called “a major blow for Kyiv” by The Wall Street Journal, especially in light of the Biden/Harris administration’s “reluctant greenlight” given for the transfer of F-16s to Kyiv last year. A training program has been underway for over a year in both Europe and the US, including Ukrainian pilots receiving instruction on bases in Texas and Arizona.
CNN reported that it wasn’t until this past Tuesday that Ukrainian President Zelensky acknowledged the Ukrainian Air Force had used F-16s in active combat.
While Ukraine remains hopeful that the F-16 will give it a boost in its war with Russia, experts say the aircraft is inferior to most Russian combat aircraft.
During his training, Mes told CNN that he and the other Ukrainian pilots needed a shortened training version. “We would have had a lot of time to study the jet completely in peacetime, but we do not have the time,” he said.
Before losing his life Monday, Mes destroyed three cruise missiles and one attack drone, according to a statement issued by the Ukrainian Air Force. He was posthumously awarded the rank of colonel.
Comments