US says it’s unlikely that Ukrainian F-16 fighter was downed by friendly fire from Patriot system – NYT

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The United States considers it unlikely that the recent crash of a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet was caused by friendly fire from a Patriot air defence missile system operated by Ukrainian forces.

Source: The New York Times, citing unnamed US officials, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The newspaper recalls that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the incident, including considering the possibility, mentioned by a Western official on Friday, that it was caused by friendly fire from a Patriot missile battery.

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However, two senior US military officials said on Saturday that friendly fire was probably not the cause of the F-16 crash.

They noted that US and Ukrainian investigators are considering a number of possibilities, including a technical malfunction or pilot error.

Background:

• Several Western media outlets reported on the crash of a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet, citing sources from both Ukraine and the United States.
• They said that it happened during a large-scale Russian missile attack targeting Ukraine on Monday, 26 August.
• Later, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces confirmed that the F-16 fighter jet crashed while repelling a Russian aerial attack, claiming the life of the pilot.

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