just weeks after the American F-16 fighter jets landed in Ukraine the first of these aircraft has crashed amid a massive Russian missile assault on Monday the crash snatched away the life of oier mes a veteran Ukrainian fighter pilot known as by his called sign MoonFish the tragedy occurred while mes was defending Ukrainian airspace he was one of the few Pilots trained to fly the advanced f-16s recently provided by NATO allies mes was part of Ukraine's Elite group of compat pilots and was flying one of the first f-16s delivered to the country the supply of F-16 symbolized Western support in the ongoing Ukraine Russia conflict he had reportedly successfully intercepted several Russian crwi missiles before the mishap occurred and according to Ukrainian military sources communication with messes jet was abruptly lost during the intense battle the wreckage was later found confirming the martydom of mess now was it mechanical failure uh or enemy fire an investigation into the crash has been launched by Ukraine's military with initial reports suggesting that pilot error or mechanical failure may have been responsible rather than enemy fire according to the nyt ukrainians are mourning the demise of mes who had been serving in Ukraine's Air Force since the early days of the conflict his death is seen as a severe blow to both military operations and National morale the newly arrived f-16s were viewed as a crucial element of Ukraine's defense strategy and mess was among the first Pilots trained to operate them the crash occurred during what President W vadir zinski described as one of the largest Russian attacks since the invasion began over 200 missiles and drones were launched at Ukrainian targets and mess along with his fellow Pilots was on the front lines of the defense despite the intense assault the f-16s proved highly effective shooting down multiple threats however messes jet was downed amidst the chaos on Thursday a large funeral was held in lutsk a city in Northwestern Ukraine where mess was laid to rest with full full military honors the Skies over the city were filled with the sound of Ukrainian Air Force jets performing a flyover in tribute a moving social media post from the Air Force Western command read Alexia saved ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles unfortunately at the cost of his own life this post captured the profound sorrow and respect felt across the country for M's sacrifice MoonFish and another pilot Andre piku known by the called sign Jews became the face of Ukraine's campaign to get the f16s it was an uphill battle but Jewish and MoonFish fought it together they were young and enthusiastic spoke good English and were willing to fight to get the US Jets into Ukrainian sky [Music]