Ukrainian officials report an F-16 pilot was killed during a significant Russian air assault on Ukraine.

On Sunday, authorities reported that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot died while defending against a Russian assault featuring hundreds of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, as Moscow escalates nighttime air strikes in the fourth year of the conflict.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged for increased assistance from the West to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses following the assault that harmed residential areas and infrastructure, injuring at least seven individuals, as per local officials.

The military reported that Ukraine lost its third F-16 fighter jet while defending against the attack since the war began.

Kyiv has not disclosed the exact number of jets in its fleet, but they have become a crucial and frequently utilized component of Ukraine’s air defense. The Ukrainian military reported that Russia fired 477 drones and 60 missiles of different types at Ukraine overnight, while Ukrainian forces intercepted 211 drones and 38 missiles.

In recent weeks, Russia has conducted similar large-scale assaults on Ukrainian cities every few days, resulting in significant destruction and the deaths of numerous civilians. Following the recent overnight strikes, regional governors reported that explosions were audible in Lviv, Poltava, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk areas.

The Ukrainian armed forces reported that air strikes occurred in six areas. According to governor Ihor Taburets on Telegram, six individuals, one of whom is a child, suffered injuries in the central Cherkasy region. He mentioned that three multi-storey structures and a college sustained damage during the assault.

A woman was hurt in the western Ivano-Frankivsk area. Authorities report that industrial sites were struck in the southern Mykolaiv and central Dnipropetrovsk regions of Ukraine. Local officials released images of high-rise buildings with scorched walls and shattered windows, as rescuers helped residents evacuate.

Ukraine says recent attacks highlight its need for further support from Washington for air defences. Zelenskiy asked U.S. President Donald Trump to sell Ukraine more Patriot missile batteries when they met in The Hague on Wednesday.

“This war must be brought to an end – pressure on the aggressor is needed, and so is protection. Protection from ballistic and other missiles, from drones, and from terror. Ukraine needs to strengthen its air defense – the thing that best protects lives,” Zelenskiy added in his X post on Sunday after the attack.

He said Ukraine was ready to buy the American air defence systems and it counts on “leadership, political will, and the support of the United States, Europe, and all our partners.”

The pilot of the Ukrainian F-16 jet did everything he could and flew the jet away from a settlement but did not have time to eject, the Ukrainian Air Force said.

“The pilot used all of his onboard weapons and shot down seven air targets. While shooting down the last one, his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude,” the Air Force said on the Telegram messenger.

The Ukrainian military reported that 225 drones were lost in the overnight assaults—referring to the military’s use of electronic warfare to divert them—or they were drone decoys that lacked explosive payloads. The governor of the Lviv region in western Ukraine stated that the assault aimed at essential infrastructure. Nevertheless, he did not provide details on the consequences.