Reference News Network, July 6 - According to Reuters, on July 3, a senior commander said that the death of an experienced F-16 pilot in Ukraine while fighting Russian drones shows that Kyiv will increasingly adopt high-risk tactics as it cannot obtain key new air defense systems.

The report stated that dozens of people have died in recent weeks due to intensified Russian air raids on Ukrainian cities, and officials say this trend will worsen if Kyiv's allies fail to increase the supply of critical munitions.

Just days after the Pentagon claimed it would temporarily suspend the supply of some weapons needed by Ukraine, Deputy Commander of the Western Air Force of Ukraine, Oleg Zakharchuk, issued a warning. He spoke at the funeral of fighter pilot Maxim Usytmenko at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv: "Everyone must understand that there is no such thing as having enough weapons. If we can't use missiles, the reason can only be that we don't get missiles, so the situation will be very difficult."

Usytmenko was killed during a large-scale air raid on June 29, when Russia deployed hundreds of drones and missiles, after he shot down seven Russian "Ophthalmic" drones.

Zakharchuk said that the pilot first fired all of the air-to-air missiles carried by his fighter jet, then used the aircraft's machine gun to shoot. The commander called this a riskier tactic because it required Ukrainian pilots to fly close to enemy drones.

He said, "If we don't shoot down the 'Ophthalmic' drones, they will crash into residential areas or buildings, causing casualties. How do we choose? Of course, we choose to destroy aerial targets, even though it is very difficult and dangerous."

American weapons that were suspended include missiles used with F-16 fighters.

The Pentagon said the suspension of ammunition supplies was to save U.S. military stockpiles. The suspended supplies also include precision-guided munitions that Ukraine needs to resist Russian advances on the battlefield.

Mourners gathered at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in the center of Kyiv to pay tribute to Usytmenko, and his coffin was then taken by a solemn procession to Independence Square.

The report stated that fighter pilots are particularly revered in Ukraine, as they bear the responsibility of countering waves of increasingly fierce air raids on Ukrainian towns since the end of 2022.

Sergei Khlobuzov, Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said at the funeral that Usytmenko was one of the 12 pilots who received training to fly this valuable American fighter jet. Ukraine began deploying F-16 fighter jets in August last year.

Zakharchuk said that before switching to the F-16, Usytmenko had hundreds of hours of flight experience flying Soviet-era aircraft. He also flew the Gripen fighter jet in Sweden. (Translated by Cao Weiguo)

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7523793325481067034/

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