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f-16 fighter jet launching missiles (data map)

the u.s. website business insider reported on august 27 that ukrainian president zelensky said on the same day that ukraine’s latest f-16 fighter jets were carrying out flight missions and shot down incoming missiles during russia’s large-scale air strikes.

according to reports, zelensky confirmed at the "2024 ukrainian independence forum" held in kiev on the 27th that the ukrainian air force used us-made f-16 fighter jets to defend against russian attacks. he said that these fighter jets "performed well and helped shoot down multiple missiles."

the report also stated that russia's large-scale air strikes used more than 100 missiles and a similar number of one-way attack drones, which was "one of the largest air strikes" in the war so far, and most parts of ukraine became targets. ukraine said that russia's targets were various key infrastructure in many parts of ukraine, especially energy facilities.

f-16 fighter jets equipped by the ukrainian air force (photo source: ukrainian air force)

zelensky did not provide more details on how many f-16 fighters were urgently taken off and how many missiles were shot down. but business insider believes that putting f-16 fighters into combat is an "important moment" for ukraine. when the f-16 fighters arrived in ukraine, photos showed that they were only equipped with air-to-air missiles, indicating that their initial purpose was air defense operations, which was also proven in the latest round of attacks.

regarding the ukrainian f-16 shooting down a russian missile, the us forbes website reported on the 27th that this was "the first time that a ukrainian f-16 fighter jet won an air combat victory."

the report said that there have been early signs that the ukrainian air force will send f-16 fighters to perform air defense combat missions. previously, these fighters were seen flying with aim-9 infrared-guided air-to-air missiles and aim-120 radar-guided air-to-air missiles. although the ukrainian f-16 fighters are compatible with western-made anti-radiation missiles and gps glide-guided bombs obtained by ukraine, they have never carried air-to-ground weapons.

review | hao junshi

editor | xu luming

proofreading | yu zemiao