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| Date: | Saturday 12 April 2025 |
| Time: | 11:38 |
| Type: |  General Dynamics F-16AM Block 20 Fighting Falcon |
| Owner/operator: | 107th Separate Aviation Wing, Ukrainian Air Force |
| Registration: | |
| MSN: | |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Nyzhnya Syrovatka, Sumy Raion, Sumy Oblast -
 Ukraine
|
| Phase: | Combat |
| Nature: | Military |
| Departure airport: | |
On 12 April 2025, a Ukrainian Air Force F-16 was lost during a combat mission in Sumy Oblast. The pilot, Kapitan Pavlo Ivanovich Ivanov, formerly an Su-25 pilot of the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade was killed in action.
The loss of the aircraft was officially confirmed by the Ukrainian Air Force.
Preliminary evidence indicates that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian S-400 Triumf long range surface to air missile system between 11:38-11:45 during a ground strike mission in the border area between the Ukrainian Sumy Oblast and Russian Kursk Oblast.
BBC News Ukraine excludes the possibility of friendly fire, as Ukrainian air defence forces were reportedly non-operational in the area.
On the same day as the shootdown, Kapitan Ivanov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The next day, the Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed that "Air defenses shot down a Ukrainian F-16 aircraft, eight JDAM guided aerial bombs, seven US-made HIMARS missiles and 207 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles."
Sentinel-2 satellite imagery shows a large crash site in the vicinity of Nyzhnya Syrovatka, Sumy Raion, Sumy Oblast, located approximately 7.5 km from Sumy Airport, or 13 km from the centre of the city of Sumy. FIRMS data also shows a large fire at the location on 12 April 2025.
On 30 May 2025, twelve Russian servicemen involved in operating the S-400 system were awarded a monetary award of 15 million rubles ($195,000 USD as of May 2025) for the downing of the aircraft. The bounty had been awarded by the Russian private sector, in particular the oil extraction company FORES. A spokesman for the company stated:
"Fores has delivered on its earlier promise to transfer 15 million rubles to members of the Russian Armed Forces for downing the first F-16 in the special military operation zone."
Sources:
https://t.me/kpszsu/32390
https://www.facebook.com/kpszsu/posts/pfbid0UUvK11xsLTuDWhP5rMGicykXj5vSBf6TPPLw8sKsWmTYiFhVMxHUixNsz4pJ47YSl
https://president.gov.ua/documents/2322025-54465
https://x.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1911024276938928291
https://x.com/NovichokRossiya/status/1910999574098985337
https://x.com/MarcinRogowsk14/status/1911020261148623255
https://x.com/AMK_Mapping_/status/1911164911922938014
https://t.me/ZOV_Voevoda/29323
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/cly189xz210o
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/2025413123-AbZ87.html
https://tass.com/defense/1942897
https://t.me/mod_russia/51242
https://t.me/mod_russia/51243
https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:2025-04-12;@34.81,50.80,14.00z
https://tass.com/defense/1965803
https://www.foresltd.com/news/kompaniya-fores-vruchila-voennosluzhaschim-rf-15-mln-rubley-za-sbityy-istrebitel-f-16/
https://www.businessinsider.com/russian-oil-firm-paid-195k-soldiers-downing-f-16-jet-2025-5
https://nypost.com/2025/05/30/world-news/russian-soldiers-handed-200000-each-for-downing-us-made-f-16-fighter-jet-in-ukraine/
Location
Media:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Apr-2025 12:04 | Nebo | Added |
| 12-Apr-2025 14:11 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative, ] |
| 13-Apr-2025 05:38 | Nebo | Updated [Time, Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 13-Apr-2025 13:21 | Nebo | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative, ] |
| 28-May-2025 09:27 | Nebo | Updated [Location, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 31-May-2025 14:00 | Nebo | Updated [Source, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Jun-2025 08:38 | Nebo | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 22-Jul-2025 17:19 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
| 04-Aug-2025 05:34 | Anon. | Updated [Operator, ] |
| 04-Aug-2025 14:46 | Nebo | Updated [Aircraft type, ] |
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