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<\/p>\n CNN
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\n A Ukrainian pilot was killed and his F-16 fighter jet crashed after Russia launched a huge aerial assault involving hundreds of drones and scores of missiles overnight, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.\n <\/p>\n
\n The airman, named as 1st Class Lt. Col. Maksym Ustymenko by the Ukrainian air force, was the third F-16 pilot killed since the Ukrainians began flying the jets last summer, and his plane was the fourth F-16 Ukraine has lost since then.\n <\/p>\n
\n The air force said Ustymenko \u201cdid everything he could to steer the aircraft away from a populated area, but he did not have time to eject.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n Ustymenko\u2019s death is a major loss for Ukraine. Only a small number of the country\u2019s top pilots have been trained to fly F-16s, the most advanced of Ukraine\u2019s fighter jets. The training is highly specialized and takes months to complete.\n <\/p>\n
\n Ukraine\u2019s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ustymenko destroyed seven targets before being killed, praising him and the Ukrainian air force for \u201cheroically protecting\u201d the country\u2019s skies.\n <\/p>\n
\n Zelensky said Moscow launched 477 drones and 60 missiles towards six different locations overnight into Sunday \u2013 one of Russia\u2019s largest ever aerial assaults in terms of weapons deployed, according to a CNN tally.\n <\/p>\n
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\n Russia has ramped up its airborne attacks<\/a> against Ukraine in recent weeks, launching hundreds of drones and missiles nearly every night.\n <\/p>\n \n These assaults are not just bigger and more frequent; they are also more concentrated and executed in a way that makes them a lot more difficult to combat \u2013 as they are flown at higher altitudes, out of reach of machine guns.\n <\/p>\n \n Zelensky said on Sunday that more than 114 missiles, over 1,270 drones, and nearly 1,100 glide bombs were launched by Russia against Ukraine just this week.\n <\/p>\n \n The Ukrainian leader pleaded with Kyiv\u2019s Western allies to provide more aerial defenses for his country, saying Russia will continue to attack Ukraine for as long as it can.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cThis war must be brought to an end \u2014 pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection. Protection from ballistic and other missiles, from drones, and from terror,\u201d Zelensky said.\n <\/p>\n \n He added that Ukraine was ready to buy \u201cAmerican systems\u201d to strengthen its air defenses \u2013 a clear call to US President Donald Trump and his administration to allow Ukraine to purchase the Patriot air defense systems.\n <\/p>\n \n The Patriots are widely considered to be among the best air defense systems. While there are other systems manufactured by some of Ukraine\u2019s other allies, none can match the Patriots when it comes to protection against advanced hypersonic and ballistic missiles.\n <\/p>\n