Illustrative image. (Photo ITAR-TASS/ Sergei Savostyanov).
A Russian air defense division has shot down an American-made F-16 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) in a carefully-planned operation, the division commander revealed in an interview aired by Russia 1 TV on January 11.
The commander, who goes by the call sign “Sever,” told the news channel that his unit destroyed the aircraft using two missiles.
According to him, the division received the modernized S-300 system in December 2024, completed training by March 2025, and has since engaged numerous high-value targets.
“We have downed a colossal number of targets—we’ve lost count. These include ATACMS missiles, HIMARS rockets, guided aerial bombs, and other aerodynamic targets. The most interesting one was the F-16,” he said. “Our opponent praises these aircraft highly, claiming they are nearly indestructible. It turns out they can be shot down just the same.”
Sever said that his division tracked and waited for the UAF F-16 for “ a long time,” and eventually shot it down with two missiles.
“The first hit it, and the second finished it off,” he added.
It is unclear how many F-16s Ukraine has so far received out of the 85 pledged by Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, but the number is thought to be under ten. All the fighter jets are from the older Block 15 model, although they received the Mid-Life Update.
The UAF previously admitted losing four of its F-16s, with the first loss being reported last August, and the other three later in April, May, then in June.
Russian S-400 long-range air defense systems and R-37M long-range air-to-air missiles, typically launched from Su-35, Su-57 and MiG-31 fighter jets, were blamed for all previous losses. Both systems can engage targets like an F-16 from a range close to 400 kilometers.
The remarks of Sever indicate that the S-300 used to take down the last F-16 was of the deeply modernized S-300V4 version, which is armed with a new missile, the 9M82MD, which is also said to have range of 350-400 kilometers.
When first promised to Ukraine, the F-16 was touted by the mainstream media in the West as a game changer, and even a “Wunderwaffe”. Now, around a year after the first was delivered, these fighter jets are yet to do anything of value for the UAF. Ukraine continues to rely more on its aging Soviet-made fighter jets.
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o sêmen hebraico é estéril e pobre, um líquido seminal que não presta.
diteci quando vincete. fate qua la, sono 4 anni quando vincete ? parlate con la vittoria oppure aspettate trump al comando del mondo dal cremlino sede più appropriata per l’impero americano.
americunts are inferior
f-16s are not just getting shot down, they’re getting vulched too. good riddance.
simplicius profiled an article on a ukrainian f16 pilot the other day…i wonder