Ukraine F-16 crashes, pilot dies repelling Russian strike
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00:00One of the very few F-16s Ukraine obtained last month has crashed.
00:06To illustrate the symbolic setback, authorities focus on the man who flew the fighter jet
00:12and died in the operation, top Ukrainian pilot Alexei Mess, hailed as a national hero.
00:20Ukraine needs fighter jets to destroy Russian missiles and drones, like the ones seen in
00:25these latest images released by the Russian military.
00:30The F-16 crashed on Monday.
00:33On that day, bombardments were said to be particularly intense.
00:38In terms of the incident and the pilot, that's really something for Ukraine to speak to.
00:43We have been, as you know, training pilots here in the United States.
00:49I will say that, broadly speaking, combat aviation is incredibly complex.
00:55Ukraine has pushed for this cooperation since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion,
01:01hoping to block Russian attacks and reverse the course of the war.
01:06But the handful of delivered planes are a far cry from the support President Zelensky
01:11was hoping for.
01:12In our various regions of Ukraine, we could do much more to protect lives if the aviation
01:19of our European neighbors worked together with our F-16s and together with our air defense.
01:25But Ukraine's allies, including EU countries currently holding talks on the situation,
01:31want to avoid any type of escalation with Russia.
01:35And even if they were to deliver on all their promises, Russia would still have 10 times
01:41more firepower than its rival.