Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky sacked Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk after an F-16 fighter jet crashed and killed the pilot, according to Ukrainian media.
We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers.
Lieutenant-General Anatoliy Kryvonozhko was appointed acting commander of the air force, the army general staff announced.
The dismissal came on the same day that Oleshchuk harshly criticised MP Mariana Bezuhla, deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament’s defence committee, for her claims that the F-16 was shot down by a Patriot air defence system. He expressed hope that her statements would have legal consequences.
The Ukrainian Air Force did not directly deny that the F-16 was shot down by a Patriot missile.
Meanwhile, Zelensky pointed to the Kharkiv strikes as further proof that Western partners should lift restrictions on what the Ukrainian military could target with Western weapons. Oleshchuk reported on Monday that “a detailed analysis” of the causes of the F-16 crash was underway.
We must carefully understand what happened, what the circumstances are, and whose responsibility it is.
The crash was the first loss of F-16s in Ukraine, where the aircraft arrived late last month. At least six of them are believed to have been supplied by European countries.
