"This is not surprising at all. Most of those jets are in for the same fate. Some of them will be destroyed on the ground. Some with S-300 and S-400 [air defense systems]. Or, if they come near the front line, they will be shot down by fighters. F-16s are not designed for aerial fighting with Russian jets. On the other hand, Ukrainian pilots, who have been trained sloppily and in a rush, are likely to make mistakes," Kedmi said.
Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya has said that the F-16 jet was shot down by a Patriot missile due to a lack of coordination among units of the Ukrainian armed forces. The crash killed Oleksiy Mes, the pilot.
On Thursday, the Ukrainian air force confirmed media reports that a US-made F-16 jet, which was transferred to Ukraine by its Western partners, crashed on Monday just weeks after the first batch of such aircraft was delivered to Kiev.