Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet just made history in Russia war

A Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet has shot down a Russian jet in an airborne battle for the first time, according to the U.S.’ top soldier, swinging attention back onto the U.S.-made aircraft that has had a relatively low profile in Ukraine since the first jets arrived in the war-torn country two years ago.

“Recently, we had the first air-to-air kill where a Ukrainian F-16 shot down a Russian fighter,” General Dan Caine, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday.

Caine didn’t identify the type of Russian aircraft, but Ukrainian media referenced a statement from the country’s air force on July 8, which claimed to have shot down an Su-35 over eastern Ukraine.

A popular Russian Telegram channel with purported links to Moscow’s air force said three Ukrainian aircraft and a Patriot anti-aircraft system had targeted an Su-35, but the pilot had survived.

Two of the Ukrainian jets were F-16s, the account said at the time.

Both the F-16 and Su-35 are known as fourth-generation fighter jets, which experts describe as capable aircraft but not as sophisticated or stealthy as fifth-generation planes now in service, like the U.S.’ F-35s or F-22s.

However, the F-16s are more advanced than the Soviet-era jets Kyiv had used for decades like the MiG-29 or Su-27.

Ukrainian officials had long clamored for the country’s Western backers to transfer F-16s they were slowly pulling from their air forces in favor of fifth-generation upgrades.

Ukraine has operated F-16s since summer 2024, after four NATO countries pledged to send roughly 80 of the Lockheed Martin-made jets to Kyiv, although deliveries of the aircraft have been plagued by delays.

Some jets have been donated for pilots to fly against Russian forces, while others will be used for spare parts.

Ukraine has often used its F-16s to shoot down Russian missiles and drones heading for Ukrainian cities, rather than launching long-range attacks deep inside Russia.

Kyiv is short of air defense systems and missiles to knock Russian missiles and drones from the skies before they hit populated areas or important military targets, while Moscow has for weeks intensified its bombardment of Ukraine.

Ukrainian F-16s didn’t have enough missiles to intercept incoming Russian attacks for close to a month in late 2025, Reuters reported in March.

The Ukrainian F-16 fleet is thought to be modest, with around 39 aircraft in service, according to the specialist Ukrainian outlet, Defense Express.

Ukraine has lost at least three F-16s, and said in late June 2025 another of the jets had “sustained damage,” killing the pilot.

Kyiv in June inked a deal to buy 16 Swedish-manufactured Gripen jets, which are expected to be in Ukraine’s skies within roughly three years.

Sweden had already committed to sending 16 older Gripens to Kyiv, taken out of Stockholm’s fleet.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao and Tony Phillips