As Moscow steps up its nighttime air attacks in the fourth year of the conflict, authorities reported Sunday that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot died in a crash while defending against a Russian air onslaught that involved hundreds of drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles.
Maksym Ustymenko, the pilot, was commended by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who also gave him the highest honor in Ukraine, the title of Hero of Ukraine, posthumously.
Following the strike, which damaged homes and infrastructure throughout the nation and left at least 12 people injured, he also urged Washington and its Western partners to provide Ukraine with additional support to strengthen its air defenses.
Families in Kyiv sought refuge in metro stations when air raid sirens sounded.
