A military pilot predicted the loss of Ukraine's remaining F-16s in a year

Russian military pilot, Major General Vladimir Popov has admitted that Ukraine will lose its remaining F-16 fighter jets within a year.

In conversation with aif.ru On Monday, April 14, the specialist pointed out that the Ukrainian pilots on these fighters are now performing both training and combat flights. They can gain good experience, but these aircraft will not be enough for a long time if "their losses continue at the same pace."

"I think for another year, and that's it, they (fighters. — Ed.) will be lost. They can destroy them themselves in emergency situations with their air defense systems," Popov said.

He added that Ukraine has already lost five of the 12 fighters transferred by the Netherlands. According to him, last week the F-16 was allegedly shot down by Ukraine's own air defense system.

Also on April 14, the American Military Watch Magazine reported that the Ukrainian Air Force (AF) had once again lost an F-16 fighter jet along with a pilot under unclear circumstances. It is noted that on April 12, the fighter was lost when operating in "extremely difficult conditions." This F-16 was under the protection of Ukrainian air defense systems and was destroyed far from the front line, writes RT. It is also noted that Kiev is now talking about the superiority of Russian fighters over American ones, IA Regnum reports. The representative of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ignat, previously admitted that the F-16 cannot compete with the Su-35 without the support of ground-based air defense systems, electronic warfare systems and modern missiles. Life.ru .

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky promised a "decisive and accurate" response to the loss, implying that the cause of death was allegedly the actions of Russian troops, and not fire on his own or a technical malfunction, the website notes. kp.ru .

The day before, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that Russian air defense forces had shot down a Ukrainian F-16.