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Ukraine has fired Air Force commander Mykola Oleschuk after losing an F-16.
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It is still unclear what caused the crash, which killed the pilot of the fighter jet.
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The loss came amid a large-scale Russian strike on Monday.
The Ukrainian leadership has dismissed the commander of its air force, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleschuk. The decision follows the loss of one of his F-16 fighter jets and a top pilot earlier this week.
The crash, which is still under investigation, occurred during a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, in which the F-16s were deployed in an air defense role to help take out Russian missiles.
The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Oleschuk’s resignation on Friday. decree did not give details about why Oleschuk was suddenly removed from his post. Lieutenant General Kryvonozhok Anatoliy Mykolayovych is set to fill the position in an interim position.
Later on Friday, Zelenskyy shared a video online addressing the resignation.
“I have decided to replace the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” he said, adding that he is “immensely grateful to all our military pilots, all engineers, all fighters of mobile fire groups, air defense units. All those who are really fighting for Ukraine – for the result.”
And the same goes for the command level — we need to strengthen ourselves,” Zelenskyy said. “And take care of people. Take care of personnel — take care of all our warriors.”
Oleschuk’s removal from his position as commander comes just one day after Ukraine acknowledged it had lost one of its leaders. Western-supplied F-16s during the day Russian missile and drone attack on MondayThe Ukrainian military said it lost communication with the plane while fighting Russian threats. It was later discovered that the plane had crashed.
The Ukrainian Air Force said the F-16 pilot, Oleksiy Mes, shot down the plane three Russian cruise missiles and one attack drone before he was murdered.
“Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles,” the Ukrainian Air Force wrote in a Telegram statement. “Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life.”
The cause of the crash is still unknown. However, it is a significant loss for Ukrainethat the first batch of F-16s just a few weeks ago from his NATO allies.
An official who wishes to remain anonymous told According to Ukrainska Pravda, the investigation into the accident is looking at possible technical failures, pilot error and crew fire.
Before his dismissal, Oleschuk had a after on Telegram in which he criticized and assured everyone that “we will find out the causes of the plane crash.”
Read the original article at Company Insider