"Flying overhead": F-16s are now conducting combat missions on the front lines, according to an expert (video).

Ukrainian F-16 fighters are conducting missions along the front line, sometimes crossing it and flying over Russian troop positions. The approximate area where this is taking place is from Zaporizhzhia to the Donetsk region. Aviation expert Konstantin Krivolap discussed the details of F-16 usage on the "Kyiv 24" TV channel.

Krivolap spoke about the changes in the operation of the fighters that were introduced into the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the summer of 2024. Initially, they were used as air defense assets, intercepting kamikaze drones like the "Shahed" and missiles from the Russian Armed Forces. Additionally, Western aircraft provided cover for Ukrainian MiG-29s and Su-24s that attacked Russian army positions. For instance, the MiG-29 dropped bombs, while the Su-24 launched Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles. However, currently, they are being deployed for independent combat missions along the front line. Sometimes, they even cross the combat line, the aviation expert noted.

"There are already reports that Russian Z-war correspondents are saying: 'This is impossible, they are flying over our heads.' Somewhere, they even cross [the line of combat contact]," he said.

The aviation expert also clarified the specific section of the thousand-kilometer combat line where the F-16s operate. According to Krivolap, it is a "wide front, from Zaporizhzhia to the Donetsk region."

The Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not yet reported any F-16s flying beyond the front line.

Details of the F-16 Aircraft of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

On August 26, the Defense Forces lost their first F-16 fighter: this was reported by Russian military sources and confirmed by MP Marianna Bezuhla. The incident occurred during the repulsion of a massive missile and drone attack by the Russian Armed Forces, when a hundred missiles of various types and a hundred kamikaze drones were flying towards Ukraine. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reported about the F-16 pilot who shot down several Russian strike assets. It turned out that this pilot was Oleksiy Mesi — he was aboard the fighter that crashed.

On February 14, The Washington Post reported on a possible cause of the aviation disaster on August 26. According to the journalists' data, a missile from the Patriot air defense system hit the F-16. However, the air defense system received from Western partners lacked a "friend-or-foe" identification system. It was revealed that the system was removed because politicians did not believe that F-16s would ever be in Ukraine.

We remind you that on February 7, military journalist Andriy Tsaplyenko showed a video featuring a French Mirage-2000 aircraft in the sky over Ukraine. Meanwhile, Anatoliy Kharchynskyi, the deputy director of a company producing electronic warfare systems, explained how the Armed Forces of Ukraine will utilize this aircraft.