A Russian company has rewarded soldiers who “achieved” in the shooting down of a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet.
Russian soldiers involved in the shooting down of the first US-made F-16 fighter jet in the special military operation zone have been awarded 15 million rubles ($195,000), the Fores company told TASS news agency.
“Fores has fulfilled its previous commitment to transfer 15 million rubles to the servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces for shooting down the first F-16 in the area of special military operations,” the company said in a statement.
According to Fores, the award ceremony took place in a border area under the witness of commanders on May 29.
“Twelve servicemen involved in the target shooting have received bonus certificates,” the company added.
Earlier, Fores CEO Sergey Shmotyev announced on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that his company would award 15 million rubles to whoever shot down the first F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine. In December, the businessman reaffirmed his commitment to TASS.
Fores, based in the Urals, produces proppant materials for the oil industry. Since the start of the special military operation, the company has been supporting the Russian military.
To date, Fores has contributed 237.7 million rubles ($3 million) to the purchase of equipment, communications equipment, jamming systems, thermal imaging sights, medicines and evacuation equipment. The company has also purchased more than 500 tons of medical supplies and pharmaceuticals for delivery to the war zone.
After receiving the first Western-supplied F-16s in August last year, Ukraine has recorded three crashes of this type of fighter.
In late August 2024, an F-16 fighter crashed and the pilot died while repelling a large Russian air strike.
On April 12, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet was shot down during a combat mission in the eastern part of the country. Although Russia confirmed that it had shot down a Ukrainian F-16, it did not disclose the type of weapon or the specific location used.
On May 16, Ukraine said that an F-16 fighter jet lost contact while repelling a Russian air strike. The pilot ejected and survived, while Ukraine lost a third F-16. It is unclear why the F-16 crashed in this incident.
The F-16 is now the backbone of Ukraine’s efforts to modernize its air force to counter the Russian air threat. The F-16s that Ukraine has received come mainly from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Belgium, and are mostly Block 50/52 variants or older models that have been upgraded to equivalent levels.
However, the F-16 must operate in a risky environment where Russia deploys long-range air defense missile systems, electronic warfare, and low-cost UAVs like the Geran-2.
These UAVs are often launched in swarms to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses, forcing air defenses to expend significant resources to intercept them. While F-16s can destroy UAVs with missiles or cannons, Ukraine’s current fleet of aircraft—estimated at just 16 to 18 by early 2025—makes any loss very serious.
