“Contact was lost with an F-16 fighter jet of the Ukrainian Air Force,” the military wrote. The Air Force provided no further information about the crash, only that authorities were investigating the cause. The F-16’s Role in Ukraine’s Air DefenseAs Ukraine grapples with a shortage of air defense missiles, its Air Force has assumed the role of Kyiv’s primary defender. Consequently, defense against ballistic missiles is relegated to the Patriot air defense system, which has become less effective due to a crippling shortage of air defense missiles. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, around 32 missiles were intercepted, only one of which was a ballistic missile.