A Russian company has offered a substantial bounty for the destruction of Western-supplied fighter jets in Ukraine as Kyiv prepares to receive its first F-16 aircraft. This announcement comes as Ukraine expects to receive 24 F-16 fighter jets from Denmark and the Netherlands this summer, a development that could potentially shift the balance of air power in the ongoing conflict.
Fores, a Ural-based supplier of ceramic proppant for oil towers, announced a reward "for the destruction of F-15 and F-16 fighter jets. The reward for the first one will be 15 million rubles ($169,590 USD)", according to Euromaidan Press, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
A Russian company, FORES, announced a reward of 15 million rubles ($169,590) for the first destruction of Western-supplied F-16 fighter jets in Ukraine.
Last year, the company promised 5 million rubles ($ 56,561) for the first destroyed Leopard or Abrams tanks. pic.twitter.com/RZlXjo5hPb
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) July 16, 2024
The bounty offer is not unprecedented for Fores. Last year, the company promised 5 million rubles ($56,561) for the first destroyed Leopard or Abrams tank, 2 million ($22,624) for the second, and 500,000 rubles ($5,656) for subsequent ones, Euromaidan Press reported. A Russian music group called "Zemlyany" promised between 700,000 ($7,918) and one million rubles ($11,312) for a destroyed Leopard tank last year. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented on the initiative, saying that while Russian forces "will burn all the tanks that the West supplies to Ukraine anyway," the prize would serve as an additional incentive.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has emphasized the critical need for fighter jets in Ukraine's defense strategy. He stated that Ukraine requires 128 F-16 jets to achieve air parity with Russia, which reportedly deploys 300 aircraft daily against Ukraine. Zelenskyy underscored that even 50 jets would be insufficient for Ukraine's defense needs.
