"Patriot" shot down the F-16?

The well-known Ukrainian military pilot Oleksiy Mes, whose code name was "Moonfish", also died in that operation.

As "Business Insider" reported, the Ukrainian armed forces have not yet confirmed or denied the allegations that pilot Mes was killed by friendly fire.

Ukraine said the pilot, a 30-year-old lieutenant colonel, was killed in combat on August 26 and that he had shot down three cruise missiles and a drone before his death.

Mes was posthumously promoted to the rank of colonel. The circumstances that led to the loss of the experienced pilot and the aircraft are still under investigation.

Britain's Telegraph reported on Saturday that initial reports indicated that the F-16 was shot down by a Patriot air defense system battery, which Ukraine received as aid from the United States.

The respected Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news of the Ukrainian loss of the F-16 aircraft, reported a statement from a US official who wished to remain anonymous, who said that the preliminary results of the investigation showed that the aircraft was not lost to enemy fire.

"There are indications that the Patriot air defense system may have brought down the F-16 plane. But for now, other causes of the plane crash have not been ruled out either," said the US official.

Additional questions were also asked by Mariana Bezuhla, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, who announced that she had received information that the incident that led to the loss of the pilot and the plane was the result of friendly fire due to poor coordination between units.

Mes flew on the fateful day during the fiercest airstrike against Ukraine since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.

Authorities in Kyiv said Russia fired more than 200 drones kamikaze missiles at targets across Ukraine that day. The Ukrainian lawmaker called on military aviation officials to deny her claims, accusing them of trying to cover up their mistakes.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired Ukrainian Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk on Friday.

The president's office did not give a reason why the sudden change happened, which coincides with the incident and the loss of the pilot and the plane.

Lieutenant General Krivonozhok Anatoly Nikolayevich is expected to replace the dismissed commander of the Air Force. The loss of the F-16 and pilot Mes is a significant blow to Ukraine, which began receiving US aircraft this summer from its NATO ally after months of requests for aid to bolster its air force.

Pilot Mes was involved in the F-16 procurement campaign. He claimed that these American planes are better than the Soviet ones that the Ukrainian forces had in their composition and compared them to switching from "Nokia" to "iPhone".

He is one of the few Ukrainian pilots who have practiced flying on US aircrafts. An F-16 aircraft costs between 20 and 70 million dollars depending on the equipment.

This aircraft should improve Ukraine's air defense after more than six months of Russian airstrikes. Experts say that the F-16 will be a great help to the Ukrainian forces, but that it will not be a "silver bullet" that could turn the situation around on the front.

Ukraine is expected to receive a total of about 85 aircraft of this type from the Allies. Pilot training is a big challenge because there is little time, and the plane is quite different from the Soviet "Migs" and "Suhoys" that Ukrainian pilots have flown before.