‘We need to protect people’: Zelenskyy fires air force commander after deadly F-16 crash



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed, Lt Common Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of nation’s air pressure, 4 days after an F-16 warplane offered by western allies crashed throughout a Russian bombardment, killing the pilot.
The firing passed off as a dispute emerged involving a Ukrainian lawmaker’s claims concerning the incident. America consultants are aiding within the investigation of the crash, which marked the primary reported lack of an F-16 in Ukraine.
The dismissal order for Lt Common Mykola Oleshchuk was printed on the presidential web site.
Zelenskyy instantly addressed the nation, stressing the necessity to shield personnel and strengthen the military on the command stage. Shortly after, Lt Common Anatolii Kryvonozhko was appointed because the performing air pressure commander by the Ukrainian military’s common workers.
“We have to shield folks. Shield personnel. Handle all our troopers,” stated Zelenskyy in his handle following the publication of the order.
The dismissal coincided with intense criticism directed at a deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament’s protection committee, lawmaker Mariana Bezuhla, who claimed the F-16 was downed by a patriot air-defense system throughout its operation.
Bezuhla’s declare, primarily based on unnamed sources, demanded accountability for what she described as an error.
In response, Oleshchuk accused Bezuhla of defaming the air pressure and discrediting US arms producers. He expressed his hopes that she would face authorized penalties for her claims.
“The reality will win,” Bezuhla posted on X shortly after the dismissal order was made public.
Oleshchuk didn’t deny the likelihood that the F-16 was hit by a Patriot missile. The air pressure confirmed that US consultants have joined the Ukrainian investigation into the crash.
Whereas inner disputes unfolded, a Russian assault utilizing highly effective plane-launched glide bombs struck the northeastern metropolis of Kharkiv, leading to six fatalities, together with a 14-year-old woman on a playground, and 47 accidents.
Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov reported that the bombs hit 5 places throughout the town, which beforehand had a inhabitants of 1.4 million folks. One of many bombs blasted a 12-story condominium block, trapping not less than one particular person on an higher flooring and elevating fears of a structural collapse as emergency crews looked for survivors.
In retaliation, Ukrainian rockets struck the Russian metropolis of Belgorod and its environment late on Friday, killing 5 and injuring 37, in response to Belgorod regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. The area, which borders northern Ukraine, experiences frequent drone and artillery assaults.
Zelenskyy cited the Kharkiv strikes as additional proof in urging Western companions to raise restrictions on what the Ukrainian army can goal with donated weapons.
The Kharkiv strike “would not have occurred if our protection forces had the aptitude to destroy Russian army aviation at its bases. We’d like sturdy selections from our companions to cease this terror,” Zelenskyy stated.
F-16 warplanes, which Ukraine started receiving from European nations on the finish of the earlier month, are among the many weapons that might be used to focus on Russian bases behind entrance strains. Nonetheless, analysing the crash is ongoing, as introduced by Oleshchuk on Telegram previous to his dismissal.
“We should rigorously perceive what occurred, what the circumstances are, and whose duty it’s,” Oleshchuk wrote shortly earlier than his dismissal.
The crash represented the primary reported lack of an F-16 in Ukraine’s battle, the place not less than six such jets at the moment are believed to have been delivered. Army consultants have voiced that the introduction of F-16s may not be a game-changer within the warfare in opposition to Russia, given Moscow’s substantial air pressure and complex air-defense methods.
Nonetheless, Ukrainian officers valued the addition of the supersonic jets, that are outfitted with trendy weapons, as a possibility to problem Russia’s air superiority.
On the battlefield, Russian forces proceed their gradual advance into japanese Ukraine, whereas Ukrainian troops are holding positions within the Kursk border area of western Russia following a current incursion.
The Institute for the Examine of Battle, a Washington-based assume tank, predicted losses of Western-provided army tools for Ukraine throughout fight however emphasised the foremost impression of any F-16 losses on Ukraine’s air protection capabilities.
In additional developments, European Union protection ministers agreed to boost their coaching program for Ukrainian troops. The goal was raised to 75,000 with an extra 15,000 recruits anticipated by the 12 months’s finish, confirmed EU overseas coverage chief Josep Borrell.
The announcement was made after a ministers’ assembly in Brussels.
“As we speak the ministers agreed to elevating the goal to 75,000, including 15,000 extra by the top of the 12 months,” Borrell advised reporters post-meeting.
“The coaching must be shortened and tailored to the Ukrainian coaching wants,” Borrell added. He famous that the EU would set up a small “coordination and liaison cell” in Kyiv to boost the effectiveness of the coaching program.
So far, 60,000 troops have accomplished the bloc’s coaching scheme, which is performed outdoors Ukraine.





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