KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the commander of the country’s air force, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, just four days after an F-16 jet, recently acquired from the West, crashed during a Russian bombardment, killing the pilot as result. The dismissal order was published on the presidential website.
In a statement issued shortly after the order, Zelensky emphasized the need to safeguard personnel and enhance military leadership. “We must protect our people and secure our forces,” he said, highlighting the importance of strengthening the military at the command level.
The army’s general staff announced that an acting commander of Ukraine’s air force has been appointed.
The decision to remove Oleshchuk coincided with his harsh criticism of Mariana Bezuhla, a deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament’s defense committee. Bezuhla had suggested that the F-16 was mistakenly downed by a Patriot air-defense system, citing unnamed sources and calling for accountability. Oleshchuk accused her of defaming the air force and discrediting American arms manufacturers, expressing hope that she would face legal consequences for her remarks. Bezuhla responded on social media, stating, “The truth will prevail,” shortly after the dismissal was announced.
While the air force did not outright deny that the F-16 might have been struck by a Patriot missile, it confirmed that American experts have joined the Ukrainian investigation into the crash.
In a separate development, a Russian airstrike on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, using powerful plane-launched glide bombs, killed six people and injured 47 others, according to regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
One of the bombs hit an apartment building, igniting a fire and trapping at least one person on an upper floor. Emergency officials, while searching for survivors, expressed concern that the structure could collapse.
