PARIS, August 30. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military has adapted sections of highways to receive F-16 aircraft instead of airbases to reduce the odds of a strike on them, the LCI TV channel reported, publishing a video showing one of these roads.

Former military pilot Xavier Titelman told the TV station that center dividers have been removed and asphalt has been restored on some sections of the highway. According to him, this is necessary in order to reduce the risk of aircraft being hit by Russian air defenses. The TV channel also noted that the Russian military was aware of the location of Ukrainian air bases and launched strikes on them on a regular basis.

French General Michel Yakovleff, who came on air as an expert, said that NATO had previously resorted to similar methods in other countries. However, he admitted that taking off from roads is riskier than taking off from runways prepared for such aircraft.

Earlier, the Ukrainian armed forces' General Staff confirmed the loss of an F-16 aircraft, but did not provide any details of the incident. Verkhovna Rada lawmaker Maryana Bezuglaya claimed that it was shot down by a Patriot SAM missile by mistake and accused the Ukrainian armed forces' command of hiding the circumstances of the plane's destruction.