The AFU Tricked The Russians Into A Trap With F-16s

• 29.01.2026, 15:56

A video has been published.

Russian propaganda resources reported with pathos about a "successful strike" on an F-16 fighter jet at the Kanatovo airfield near Kropivnitsky. The reports claimed that the strike was carried out by a drone and the target was allegedly destroyed. The main Kremlin publications have been publishing videos of the strike, according to "Dialog.UA".

The reality, however, was more prosaic: a mockup of the plane, specially installed by the Ukrainian military as a decoy, was hit. There are no real fighters at this airfield for a long time.

The Ukrainian military set a trap

According to Ukrainian sources, a Russian BM-35 drone attacked a mock-up of an F-16ADF installed on the territory of the defunct Kanatovo airfield. The operation was carried out by the Russian Rubicon center.

Moreover, the Kanatovo airfield has not been used by the Ukrainian Air Force since July 2022, after the Russian missile strike, meaning the Russians were hitting a facility that has long been of no military significance.

Why it was immediately clear that it was a fake

Military experts paid attention to an important detail: the air intake element highlighted in the footage has a rectangular shape, uncharacteristic of a real F-16. It was this feature that made it clear that it was a mockup.

Simply put, a Russian drone worth thousands of dollars destroyed a piece of plywood and metal.