Russian forces have claimed that they had shot down a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet using an S-300 air defence system near a contested zone. A Russian commander, identified by the call-sign ‘Sever’, described the US-supplied F-16 as ‘the most interesting target’ his unit has encountered. He said the battery fired two consecutive missiles at the F-16, with the first damaging the aircraft and the second ‘delivering the final blow’.
“It took us a lot of time to prepare for this operation. We were tracking it and anticipating it. The enemy boasted that these planes were indestructible. As it turns out, they fall out of the sky just like the rest,” Sever said, though he did not specify when the plane was shot down.
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He added that since late December 2024, Russian forces have targeted and shot down multiple aerial targets, including NATO-supplied jets over Ukraine, with the assistance of S-300 systems. Ukraine began receiving F-16s in August 2024 and has since confirmed the loss of four in combat. According to sources, Ukraine has so far received 44 of the 87 jets promised by its European backers.
Both sides have inflicted heavy losses on each other since the war began in 2022. Russia has confirmed the losses of its Flanker jets, Ka-52 attack helicopters, and some rescue and reconnaissance assets. Ukraine has also lost dozens of aircraft and hundreds of tanks and combat vehicles, including APCs and IFVs, in combat with Russia over the past four years.
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