Russia is claiming that its military has killed a NATO flight instructor who was on the ground in Ukraine advising Ukrainian pilots after they received several rounds of F-16 fighter jets from European countries.
"Danish instructor Jepp Hansen, who was training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, has allegedly been killed in a Russian missile strike in Ukraine, TASS reported on Saturday," according to Russia's English-language media.
Regional reports say that an Iskander missile was launched by Russia on a university building in the city of Krivoy Rog in Dnepropetrovsk Region which was being used by the Ukrainian military.
The Danish government has not commented on the claims, nor is it expected to:
According to Russian media reports, citing a post by Hansen’s friend on social media, the Dane had significant experience in flying F-16 jets and had trained “hundreds of Ukrainians” to operate the planes.
Neither Denmark nor the Russian Defense Ministry has officially commented on the reports.
Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading European countries in the F-16 program, having also hosted Ukrainian pilots as they undergo training.
While speculation has abounded over whether or not NATO trainers are actually inside Ukraine, Russia has on several occasions warned that any such Western personnel present in Ukraine are fair game for attack.
In the recent past, Russia has claimed to have taken out French mercenaries in the north. These current Russian media reports mark the first claims of a NATO flight instructor having been killed, and the reports are surprisingly specific, mentioning the allegedly deceased Danish pilot by name.
Some media reports and pundits have gone so far as to suggest that NATO pilots are actually operating Ukraine's F-16s in Ukraine's skies in some cases. But this has never been confirmed nor is there evidence of this.
Video proof from the Ministry of Defense of Belgium. Training of Ukrainian fighters on F-16 in Denmark.
— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) March 19, 2024
"My task is operation and organization of flights. Determination of aircraft on shift and people who will service the equipment," — military officer of the ZSU Ihor. pic.twitter.com/r6bev6EyfQ
Russia's military has been searching for base locations in Ukraine where the F-16s are hosted on the ground. Kiev has kept this a carefully guarded secret since receiving the advanced fighters. It could be that some are based in neighboring Poland, and then fly missions in Ukraine.
The US has also been hosting a Ukrainian pilot training program, especially out of San Antonio and Arizona, but has allowed European partners to largely spearhead the bulk of the training, some reports indicate.
