Zelensky abruptly fires Ukrainian Air Force general after F-16 crash
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky did not provide a reason for the general's termination, only stating “we need to protect the lives of all our servicemen.”
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President Volodymyr Zelenskyy answering media questions in front of Ukraine's new F-16 fighter jets in an undisclosed location in Ukraine, August 4, 2024. (AFP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky has dismissed the Air Force's General Nikolay Oleshchuk after a public dispute with the leader's Servant of the People party following the crash of the F-16 fighter jet.
The leader signed a decree relieving the general from his command and duties, effective immediately. Zelensky did not provide a reason for the termination, stating in a video message that “we need to protect the lives of all our servicemen.”
The Ukrainian president announced on Friday evening that Lieutenant General Anatoly Krivonozhko has been appointed as the acting commander of the military.
Oleshchuk's online dispute with MP Bezuglaya
The F-16's crash killed its pilot, Aleksey ‘Moonfish’ Mes, which Kiev only revealed on Thursday, adding that the accident was under investigation. MP Mariana Bezuglaya then claimed that Mes had been shot down by one of the army's US-donated "Patriot" air defense systems, sparking outrage from Oleshchuk.
“Mariana, the time will come when you will apologize to the entire army for what you have done, I hope in court!” Oleshchuk wrote on social media on Friday, accusing Bezuglaya of “selling out” and being “a tool to discredit the top military leadership.”
Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Oleshchuk slams Ukrainian MP Maryana Bezuglaya over the first F-16 crash:
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 30, 2024
"No one is hiding anything. The investigation is already underway.
Bezuglaya's statements are being used to discredit the top military leadership. She sold her name a long… pic.twitter.com/5of7K4ePjD
“You not only poured dirt on me personally and on the Air Force, you discredited the manufacturers of American weapons – the main ally of Ukraine – the USA!” the commander stated, accusing the MP of being a star of “Russian propaganda.”
Official statements from Kiev revealed that the late pilot was killed in an air defense attack by three Russian cruise missiles and a drone, while Bezuglaya declared that Mes' jet was hit by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to “discoordination between units.”
“War is war, such episodes are possible,” she wrote. “But a culture of lies… leads to a management system for military decisions that does not improve based on truthful, consistently collected analytics, but worsens and even collapses, as seen in the Pokrovsk direction,” she said, referring to Russia’s recent advancement in the Donbass.
The Pentagon was asked about the Ukrainian MP's claims of the US-made jet shot down by a US-made missile, which deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh stated would be “something for the Ukrainians to address.”
“The US has not been asked to participate in any investigation into this incident,” she said. “So, in terms of whether this pilot was killed as a result of friendly fire, I just can’t speak to that.”
US admin. will not send contractors to Ukraine to maintain F-16 jets
Joe Biden's administration has renounced the idea of sending US contractors to Ukraine to maintain F-16 fighter jets due to safety concerns, suggesting European countries take responsibility for servicing the war aircraft, US media reported, citing US officials.
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed on Thursday that one of their US-made fighter jets crashed on Monday following the arrival of the first batch of F-16s earlier this month in Kiev.
According to media reports, the US National Security Council considered sending civilian contractors to the former Soviet nation to maintain its F-16 fighter jets and other weaponry, but the proposal was ruled out after the intelligence community deemed the mission too risky.
Despite the present decision, the US administration did not rule out the possibility of sending contractors to Ukraine in the future, according to the report.
Russia and Ukraine have been at war since February 2022. The ongoing conflict has been described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as an operation that aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years," adding the main objective is to ensure the complete liberation of the Donbass and guarantee national security.
