**Russian Oil Company Rewards Soldiers for Downing US-Made F-16 in Ukraine**

In an unexpected development, a Russian oil company has distributed 15 million rubles, approximately $195,000, to a group of Russian soldiers credited with bringing down the first US-made F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine. This significant payout was announced by Fores, a manufacturer specializing in fracking parts, which revealed the details during a ceremony held close to the Russia-Ukraine border on Thursday.

"Fores fulfilled its earlier promise and paid 15 million rubles to Russian servicemen for destroying the first F-16 fighter jet in the special operation zone," a company spokesperson confirmed. The firm had initially launched the bounty system in 2023, offering financial rewards to soldiers who succeeded in eliminating specific types of Western-supplied military hardware.

Since setting up the bounty initiative, Fores has disbursed a total of over 52 million rubles, roughly $670,000, for the confirmed destruction of one F-16 and an unspecified number of Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks.

The F-16 fighter jet has been highly sought after by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, aiming to boost the country's air defense capabilities. Kyiv received its initial batch of these jets in the summer of 2024. Despite losing at least three F-16s in combat as of last year, the fighters have been praised for their effectiveness on the battlefield. General Christopher G. Cavoli, the US's top military official in Europe, noted in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing in April that the F-16s had excelled in both defensive and offensive missions, including neutralizing numerous cruise missile threats and conducting bombing operations in eastern Ukraine.

The reward ceremony and the larger context of these bounties underscore the intense and ongoing military and geopolitical struggles in the region, marked by the use and attrition of advanced military technology.