“He heroically fought his final battle within the sky. Oleksiy destroyed three cruise missiles and one kamikaze drone, whereas repelling a large Russian mixed air and missile assault. Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from lethal Russian missiles. Unfortunately, at the price of his personal life,” the air pressure command mentioned.
Russia fired greater than 127 missiles and 100 drones at Ukraine on Monday, focusing on largely important power infrastructure, together with a dam within the Kyiv area.
The Wall Street Journal was the primary to report on the lack of the F-16, citing an nameless U.S. official. The first fighters solely arrived in Ukraine this month after years of stress from Kyiv on its allies.
Mes was some of the vocal pilots calling for Ukraine to be given F-16s. Together with one other pilot, Andriy “Juice” Pilshchykov, who was killed in a crash in August 2023, Mes traveled to the U.S. to foyer for higher jets to guard Ukraine.
“Oleksiy was an exemplary pilot. Always a wonderful scholar, at all times the primary, at all times the most effective,” Tetiana Shevchuk, a good friend of each pilots, wrote on Facebook. “He was the primary Ukrainian pilot to take a seat on the controls of an F-16 and the primary to fly fight missions.”