Ukraine is investigating the crash this week of one of the few F-16 fighter jets that had been delivered to the country by its allies in NATO, and was already collaborating with the United States to try to determine what happened, the head of Ukraine’s air force said on Friday.

At the same time, a Western official who has been briefed on the preliminary investigation said that there are “indications” that friendly fire from a Patriot missile battery might be involved in the crash.

The plane crashed on Monday while defending against an intense aerial attack by Russian forces, which on Thursday hit an apartment block in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, killing five and wounding scores more.

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