Military expert admits destruction of F-16s in massive strike on Ukraine

Retired colonel and military expert Anatoliy Matviychuk has admitted that the Russian Armed Forces (AF) destroyed F-16s in a massive strike on Ukraine.

In a conversation with Lenta.Ru on Friday, December 20, the expert noted that "this has become a good tradition after every ATACMS and Storm Shadow strike." According to the colonel, the Russian Armed Forces struck the Luch design bureau in Kiev, where the Neptun anti-ship system and the Olkha multiple rocket launchers were developed. The strike also hit the Artem plant, which also produced missile equipment.

According to Matviychuk, warehouses with weapons and equipment in the vicinity of the Boryspil airfield caught fire as a result of the strike.

"There is data that, quite possibly, there are F-16s there," he reported.

The expert added that the strike was carried out point-by-point on military facilities without destroying civilian infrastructure.

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The Russian Armed Forces launched a massive strike on Ukraine on December 20. Decision-making centers came under attack. Several explosions, in particular, were heard in Kiev. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian military from December 14 to 20 carried out 24 group strikes on energy facilities, military airfields and other targets. It is noted that the strike was carried out by high-precision weapons of long range, the goals of the strike were achieved, all targets were hit, writes NSN.

On the same day, the editor-in-chief of the magazine "National Defense" Igor Korotchenko explained the strike on the SBU control point in retaliation for the murder of the head of the RCDBZ troops Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov. He expressed confidence in the need to continue strikes on key decision-making centers in Ukraine, RT reported.

Military expert Yevgeniy Mikhailov said in a conversation with 360.ru that the series of powerful explosions in Kiev were a preparation of the Ukrainian authorities for the negotiation process. The expert added that there are many military factories and warehouses on the territory of Ukraine, as well as places where war criminals stay.

On 19 December, during a direct line, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that Russia had a whole list of priority targets on the territory of Ukraine. This list includes mainly military facilities and objects of the military-industrial complex, the website kp.ru reported.

Russian troops in October 2022 began striking military facilities and related energy and communications facilities in Ukraine. As explained by Russian President Vladimir Putin, this was a response to the terrorist actions of the Kiev regime.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was taken against the background of the aggravated situation in the region.