Illustrative image.
Oleksandr Borovyk, a 30-year-old pilot from the 39th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Forces (UAF), was killed on September 11 while carrying out a combat mission in the Zaporizhzhia direction, the brigade announced in a statement.
The pilot was flying his Soviet-made Su-27 fighter jet on a combat sortie early in the afternoon when the incident occurred.
“The causes and circumstances (of his death) are under investigation. We extend our sincere condolences to Oleksandr’s family and friends… Eternal memory to the Hero,” the statement read.
Around 34 Su-27UB, Su-27S1M and Su-27P1M inherited from the Soviet Union were in active service with the UAF before the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine more than three years ago. Some of these fighter jets were upgraded after the start of the operation to deploy Western-made guided munitions.
Wikipedia’s list of aviation shootdowns and accidents during the conflict says that the UAF had lost at least 28 of these Su-27s. The real losses are likely even higher.
The UAF rarely acknowledges its losses. The air force attributed all the losses it reported this year, including three American-made F-16 and one French-made Mirage 2000 fighter jets, to “crashes”.
Unsurprisingly, it has been proven in many cases that the losses were in fact caused by Russian fighter jets, air defenses or missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian air bases and maintenance facilities.
The latest loss, which happened close to the frontline in the Zaporizhzhia direction, was also almost certainly the result of Russian fire. The death of the pilot was likely what forced the UAF to report the loss. Despite the strict censorship in Ukraine, the death of military pilots always finds its way to the media. Thus, Kiev has taken the habit of acknowledging aerial losses almost exclusively when the pilot is killed.
The previous loss acknowledged by the UAF was a MiG-29 on August 23. At the time, the pilot was also killed and the air force claimed that it was just a “crash.” Later it would be suggested that the fighter jet was in fact lost while attempting to intercept Russian drones.
Several NATO states have promised to supply Ukraine with dozens of F-16 and Mirage 2000 fighter jets. The deliveries began a while ago. However, the UAF remains reliant on its few remaining Soviet-era fighter jets, like the Su-27 and the MiG-29. Kiev is either attempting to preserve the few Western-made fighter jets it has received so far, or facing serious problems while trying to operate them. The latest F-16 and Mirage 2000 losses suggest that the second option is the most likely.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
good work ! too bad this story in not about the last israeli / us supplied fighter jets falling into the abyss.
don’t worry the rafales, the gripens and eventually the f-35 lightings are on their way, the ruskies won’t know what hit them. dumb ruskies couldn’t stop a few dozen off the shelf drones deep inside rusiass rear from decimating their precious, triad nuclear strategic bombers. just like qatar’s towelheads the ruskies won’t be able to stop fifth generation us fighters from taking out every strategic target and bring russia’s failed, joke, 3 days smo to a screeching halt
common adolescent emotional responses to defend personal indoctrination are among the most humorous these zionist hasbara produce. happy 911 day america !
the complete fantasy world in which these retarded bozos the clown live is fascinating.
just like a child fascinated by a complete omnipotence that only exists in his mind.
maybe he should ask himself _why_ this hasn’t happened already ? but that would require a mature vision of reality that he lacks.
laughable.
f-35 pilots should never forget to hit the “stealth” button, otherwise air defense crews wouldn’t even know they shot sth. down meant to be “stealth”.