A Ukrainian F-16 pilot, Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustimenko, lost his life while countering a massive Russian air attack involving 537 projectiles, including drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ustimenko’s aircraft downed seven air targets before sustaining damage and crashing.
The incident occurred overnight, with the pilot steering the jet away from populated areas but unable to eject in time.
Ukraine’s military stated that 475 of the Russian projectiles were intercepted, though explosions were reported across regions like Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, Lviv, and Cherkasy, damaging civilian infrastructure.
The Russian assault targeted multiple Ukrainian regions, hitting industrial facilities in Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk, railway infrastructure in Poltava, and residential buildings in Cherkasy, where six people, including two children, were injured.
In Cherkasy, three multistorey buildings and a college sustained damage, with rescuers evacuating residents from structures with charred walls and broken windows.
In response, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed its forces destroyed three Ukrainian drones in Kursk, Rostov, and Crimea, while a Ukrainian drone reportedly killed one person in Luhansk’s Russian-controlled area
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy emphasized the urgent need for bolstered air defenses, calling on the U.S. and Western allies for more support to counter Russia’s relentless strikes.
He highlighted that Moscow launched 1,270 drones and 1,100 glide bombs in the past week alone.
Meanwhile, Zelenskiy signed a decree to withdraw Ukraine from the Ottawa Convention, citing Russia’s unrestricted use of mines against civilians and military.
The move, which requires parliamentary approval, reflects Ukraine’s prioritization of state security amid the ongoing conflict, now in its fourth year with no ceasefire in sight.