During the nighttime air attack by the Russian Federation on Ukrainian territory, F-16 pilot Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Ustimenko was killed.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Scale of the Enemy Attack and Actions of Ukrainian Air Defense
On the night of June 29, Russian forces launched one of the largest air attacks on Ukraine, deploying 537 aerial targets of various types. All available means of the Defense Forces were engaged to repel this massive assault, and the Air Force’s aviation, particularly F-16 aircraft, effectively destroyed enemy drones and missiles.
“All available means of the Defense Forces capable of countering the enemy’s air attack were involved in repelling the massive assault. Once again, the Air Force’s aviation, especially the F-16 aircraft, effectively destroyed dozens of ‘Shaheds,’” the report stated.
Losses and Heroism of the Pilot
During the repulsion of the air attack, first-class pilot Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Ustimenko, born in 1993, was killed. It is known that the pilot utilized the entire arsenal of his F-16 and shot down seven aerial targets. While executing his last combat mission, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude. Maxim Ustimenko did everything possible to divert the aircraft away from populated areas, but he did not have time to eject.
According to official reports, that night the enemy attacked Ukraine with 477 Shahed strike drones and other imitation drones launched from the territories of Kursk, Shatalovsky, Oryol, Bryansk, and Millerovo regions of the Russian Federation, as well as from Chaoody in temporarily occupied Crimea.
Additionally, Russia employed the following types of missile weaponry:
- 4 air-launched ballistic missiles X-47M2 “Kinzhal” from the airspace of Tambov region of the Russian Federation;
- 7 ballistic missiles Iskander-M/KN-23 from Voronezh region of the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied Crimea;
- 41 cruise missiles X-101/Iskander-K from Saratov, Kursk, and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation;
- 5 cruise missiles “Kalibr” from the Black Sea waters;
- 3 surface-to-air guided missiles S-300 from Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
The Ukrainian air defense forces managed to neutralize 475 aerial targets:
- 249 were shot down by fire means, and another 226 were lost locationally;
- 211 Shahed drones (and other types) were destroyed, 225 were suppressed or lost to electronic warfare;
- One ballistic missile Iskander-M/KN-23 was destroyed;
- 33 cruise missiles X-101/Iskander-K were shot down, one was lost locationally;
- 4 cruise missiles “Kalibr” were shot down.
At the same time, hits by Russian air attack means were recorded in six locations, and debris from the downed aerial targets fell in eight populated areas.