The F-16 fighter jet went down on Monday when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine in the first reported loss of one of the fighter jets in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the commander of the country’s air force, four days after an F-16 warplane that Ukraine received from its Western allies crashed during a Russian bombardment and killed the pilot.
The order to remove Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk was published on the presidential website.
Zelenskyy didn’t devote much of his nightly video address to the dismissal, saying only he had decided to replace Oleschuk, adding that, “We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers.”
Lt. Gen. Anatolii Kryvonozhko has been appointed acting air force commander, the army’s general staff said.
The F-16 fighter jet went down on Monday when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine.
The crash is the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where they arrived at the end of last month. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered.
In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian Air Force identified the pilot as Colonel Alexei ‘Moonfish’ Mes, who “saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles, unfortunately, at the cost of your own life.”
‘Moonfish’ and a fellow Ukrainian pilot, Andrii ‘Juice’ Pilshchykov, made an early public visit to the US in June 2022 to press lawmakers and media to send F-16s to Ukraine.
The Defence Ministry says it has opened an investigation into the crash.
Meanwhile, a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv using powerful plane-launched glide bombs killed six people, including a 14-year-old girl on a playground, and wounded 47 others, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
The bombs struck five locations across the city, with one hitting a 12-story apartment block, setting the building on fire and trapping at least one person on an upper floor.
Emergency crews searching for survivors feared the building could collapse.
Zelenskyy pointed to the Kharkiv strikes as further evidence that Western partners should scrap restrictions on what the Ukrainian military can target with weapons provided as part of military aid packages.
The Kharkiv strike, “wouldn’t have happened if our defence forces had the capability to destroy Russian military aviation at its bases. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukrainian authorities said the attack was launched from just across the border in the Russian region of Belgorod.
ADVERTISEMENTThat’s where at least five people were killed and 37 others injured in Ukrainian airstrikes on Friday evening, local authorities said.
Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, accused Ukrainian forces of using ‘Vampir’ multiple-launch rocket systems with cluster munitions in the attack.
He said six children were among those injured and that 10 people had been hospitalised with serious injuries.