US Pilot ‘Involved’ In Ukraine Fighter Crash, Status Unknown

The status of a U.S. pilot remains unclear after a Ukrainian fighter crashed on Tuesday during joint exercises in western Ukraine.

A Ukrainian Sukhoi SU-27B went down in the Khmelnytskyi region, killing both the pilot and co-pilot, the Ukrainian military’s general staff announced on Tuesday.

Initially, the general staff announced that an American was one of the two killed, but that information was retracted, according to Meduza, a Russian-speaking media outlet.

Defense officials in Europe were unable to tell Task & Purpose on Tuesday whether the American pilot was alive.

“At this moment, we can only say that a U.S. service member was involved in the incident, and that it is still under investigation,” Capt. Christopher Bowyer-Meeder, a spokesman for U.S. Air Forces Europe, said in an email.

This post will be updated as we learn more.

 

Task & Purpose Video

Each week on Tuesdays and Fridays our team will bring you analysis of military tech, tactics, and doctrine.

 
Jeff Schogol Avatar

Jeff Schogol

Senior Pentagon Reporter

Jeff Schogol is a senior staff writer for Task & Purpose. He has covered the military for nearly 20 years. Email him at schogol@taskandpurpose.com; direct message @JSchogol73030 on Twitter; or reach him on WhatsApp and Signal at 703-909-6488.