Ukrainian F-16 Pilot Killed While Intercepting Massive Russian Air Assault
Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed Sunday that Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustymenko, a 31-year-old F-16 pilot, was killed during one of the largest Russian air assaults since the start of the full-scale war. Ustymenko died after his fighter jet was critically damaged while intercepting Russian missiles and drones overnight on June 29.
According to the Air Force, Ustymenko successfully destroyed seven enemy air targets during the mission. Despite sustaining serious damage, he steered his aircraft away from populated areas. He was unable to eject in time and was later declared dead. “He died like a hero,” the Air Force said in an official statement.
The assault he was responding to was unprecedented in scale. Russian forces launched a combined total of 537 missiles and drones, including cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons, and hundreds of Iranian-designed Shahed drones. It marked one of the heaviest and most complex attacks Ukraine has faced in 2025.
Among the air weapons launched were 477 Shahed-type drones and decoys, four Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, seven Iskander ballistic missiles, 41 Kh-101 and Iskander-K cruise missiles, five Kalibr cruise missiles from the Black Sea, and three S-300 guided missiles. The missiles were fired from multiple directions, including occupied Crimea and Russian regions such as Tambov, Voronezh, Saratov, and Kursk.
Ukrainian air defenses, including F-16s, mobile air defense teams, and electronic warfare systems, were deployed nationwide.
By morning, Ukraine’s defenders had managed to intercept or neutralize 475 of the 537 targets. These included 211 drones shot down and another 225 disabled by jamming, along with multiple cruise and ballistic missiles.
Explosions were reported across Ukraine. In Kremenchuk, dozens were heard as missiles and drones rained down. A fire broke out at an industrial facility in Poltava region. Three civilians were injured in Cherkasy when missiles struck civilian areas. Zaporizhzhia reported damage to a production facility, and in Lviv, critical infrastructure was targeted. Explosions were also confirmed in Kyiv.
The drone portion of the attack lasted nearly 10 hours, while the missile barrage continued for almost three. Ukraine’s response, though largely successful in repelling the assault, came at the cost of another highly trained pilot.
Ustymenko is the third Ukrainian F-16 pilot confirmed killed in combat. The first, Lt. Col. Oleksii “Moonfish” Mes, died in August 2024. A second, Pavlo Ivanov, was killed in April this year. All three had been trained abroad as part of Ukraine’s integration of Western fighter aircraft into its defense forces.
Their deaths underscore the high price Ukraine continues to pay to protect its skies—each mission carried out under immense risk as Russia’s aerial campaign intensifies.
