One of the first Ukrainian pilots trained to fly the American fighter jet died when his F-16 crashed on Monday while on a mission to shoot down Russian drones and missiles, CNN reports. The cause of the crash is unclear, but Ukrainian officials say they do not believe pilot error was the cause.
Oleksiy Mes, known by the call sign “Moonfish,” was one of the vocal advocates for the US and other nations to train pilots and provide F-16s to Ukraine. Officials say Moonfish was moving from one set of targets to another when controllers lost communication with him.