UKRAINE’S first F-16 fighter jet pilot is believed to have been killed in a Russian airbase strike.
Lieutenant colonel Oleksii “Moonfish” Mes, 31, had raced to become a fully-trained fighter pilot as the American-made jets were made available for combat.
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But just hours after Kyiv confirmed it had used the fighting falcons for the first time in the war, Moonfish was said to be dead.
Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk said on social media he died “while performing a combat mission to protect the territorial integrity and independence of Ukraine”.
Russian sources said he was struck in a bombardment on a Ukrainian air base on August 26.
It’s not clear whether he was at the controls of the aircraft or simply at a command post.
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The mayor’s statement was later deleted, possibly due to the sensitivity over the highly-anticipated launch of the F-16 program.
Vlad’s defence ministry had said it carried out strikes on airfields in Kyiv and Dnipropetrovsk that same day amid reports of more blows on other regions.
A Kremlin newspaper claimed: “One of the first Ukrainian F-16 pilots, Lt-Col of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksii Mes, has died.
“This occurred on 26 August, when Russian military forces carried out a series of strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces infrastructure targets in western Ukraine.
“The exact airfield where the pilot was killed is not specified.”
Moonfish last year appeared on CNN, discussing a race against the clock to learn how to fly the multi-faceted fighters as the US ticked them off for battle.
At the time, he was only in his second month of training.
He said: “The F-16 is a Swiss Army knife.
“It’s a very good weapon that can carry out any mission.”
“We would have had a lot of time to study the jet completely in peacetime, but we do not have the time.”
F-16s were highly sought after by Ukraine for their capacity to take out ground targets, provide cover, intercept missiles and take on enemy planes in dogfights.
They are the most sophisticated American-supplied weapon for the war so far.
But there have been concerns over whether Ukraine could train up enough pilots in time to effectively deploy them.
Moonfish had hoped a squadron of seasoned pilots would deter Putin’s army from attempting to advance.
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He said: “We must build proper air power with Western jets and effectively trained staff.
“This will be the biggest deterrent – so that 24 February (the full-scale invasion) doesn’t happen again.”
Vlad is reportedly offering huge cash incentives – as much as £124,000 – for troops to take down the Western aircraft.
It doesn’t appear as though Moonfish was in the air when struck, according to early reports.
The jets this week soared to the skies to intercept Russian rockets and drones after two days of devastating bombardments.
Moscow unleashed more than 300 missiles and drones, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, Iranian Shahed one-way attack drones and submarine launched Kalibr cruise missiles.
The Russian attacks since Sunday were one of the biggest bombardments of the war and caused “significant damage” to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky revealed: “We shot down some missiles with the help of F-16s.”
US Senator Lindsey Graham earlier in August proposed Ukraine going on a recruiting drive for retired NATO pilots.
After meeting with Zelensky, he suggested Kyiv could use mercenaries until their own pilots were skilled.
He said: “They will look for ready retired pilots among NATO countries to help them until they train their own pilots.
“We just spoke with Zelensky. If you’re a retired F-16 pilot looking for an opportunity to fight for freedom, they’ll hire you here.”
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