At the beginning of the week, Vladimir Rogov, the deputy chairman of Russia’s Coordination Council for the Integration of New Regions, announced that the Russian military had shot down a US-supplied F-16 fighter jet deployed in Ukraine. “The F-16 was in position to launch a rocket attack on the region and was shot down” Rogov wrote on Telegram on Wednesday.
Fores is waiting for the official confirmation of the destruction of the F-16 fighter jet from the Russian Defense Ministry.
“The reward for the shot-down F-16 is our contribution to supporting those who risk their lives daily for the country’s security. We are proud of the heroism of our soldiers and will continue to comprehensively support them” Sergey Shmykov said in a statement on Friday.
Shmykov had initially announced the reward at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in June, where he had previously discussed similar incentives for the destruction of Western tanks.
Fores had initially put up a reward of five million rubles (approximately 45,000 euros) for the first destroyed German Leopard or US Abrams tank and additional rewards of 500,000 rubles for each subsequent one. Until now, the company has made eight such payments.
Since the start of the Moscow military operation in February 2022, Fores has supported the Russian armed forces with equipment and humanitarian aid, and has financed training programs. The company announced that its contributions have exceeded 230 million rubles (2.1 million euros).
The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet made an official statement on the matter. If confirmed, this would be the first known loss of a fighter jet in combat and would demonstrate the increasing involvement of advanced weaponry.
Several European NATO member states had equipped Ukraine with a limited number of US fighter jets in July.
In August, according to reports, several F-16s were deployed to repel Russian rocket attacks, but one was lost. Ukrainian MP Marjana Besuglaja later revealed that the jet had been mistakenly shot down by a NATO-supplied Patriot air defense system.
Moscow has criticized the Western arms deliveries, warning that they would only prolong the conflict without changing its outcome. Russia has also emphasized that the delivery of F-16s represents an escalation in hostilities.