Pentagon aware of Ukraine's first F-16 loss, but gets no from request from Kyiv for investigation

The Pentagon is aware of the loss of Ukraine's first F-16 fighter jet but has not provided any assistance in investigating the incident because Kyiv has not requested it.

"I've seen the reports, I'm not aware of any assistance or requests for assistance [in the investigation of the incident] from the Ukrainian side to us about this particular incident," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said during a briefing.

She emphasised that only the Ukrainian side could comment on the issue of the crash and the Pentagon would not confirm information regarding the cause of the accident. 

Singh stressed that the US would not comment on details of the incident or specifics regarding potential electronic equipment on board the fighters and urged reporters to seek comments directly from Ukraine.

She also declined to comment on the number of F-16s currently in Ukraine or those planned for delivery, calling it a matter of operational security.

"I'm just not going to get into numbers of how many F-16s are in Ukraine. That's something for them [Ukrainians] to speak to,", she pointed out.

On 29 August, The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that an F-16 fighter jet had been destroyed in a plane crash in Ukraine on Monday, 26 August.

It was claimed that this happened during a large-scale missile attack on Russia on Monday, 26 August.

Later, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while repelling a Russian missile strike. The pilot was killed.