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Ukraine's Air Force Commander Fired After F-16 Crash as Russia Intensifies Attacks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the country's air force commander after an F-16 crash, as Russia intensifies attacks on Ukraine, killing civilians and sparking calls for stronger Western support.
Airplane, airport, airfield, and lockheed martin by Fasyah Halim (@fasyahalim_) (Unsplash)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the commander of the country's air force, Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk, four days after an F-16 warplane crashed during a Russian bombardment, killing the pilot. The dismissal was announced on the presidential website, with Zelenskyy stating that Ukraine needs to strengthen its army on the command level.
The crash of the F-16, which was received from Western partners, has sparked controversy, with some lawmakers blaming the Ukrainian military for the incident. Oleshchuk had directed scathing criticism at a lawmaker who claimed that the F-16 was downed by a Patriot air-defense system, accusing her of defaming the air force and discrediting U.S. arms manufacturers.
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The dismissal came on the same day that Russia launched a powerful attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, killing six people, including a 14-year-old girl, and wounding 47 others. The attack, which used plane-launched glide bombs, struck five locations across the city, including a 12-story apartment block.
Zelenskyy pointed to the Kharkiv strikes as further evidence that Western partners should scrap restrictions on what the Ukrainian military can target with donated weapons. "We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror," he said.
The F-16 crash is being investigated by Ukrainian and U.S. experts, with Oleshchuk stating that a detailed analysis was being conducted into the incident. The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where the warplanes arrived at the end of last month.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian rockets hit the Russian city of Belgorod and its surroundings, killing five people and injuring 37. The region borders northern Ukraine and comes under drone or artillery attacks almost daily.
In other developments, European Union defense ministers agreed to boost their training program for Ukrainian troops, aiming to train 75,000 soldiers by the end of the year. The EU will also set up a small "coordination and liaison cell" in Kyiv to make the training effort more effective.
The Institute for the Study of War expects that Ukraine will lose some Western-provided military equipment in the fighting, but notes that any loss of F-16s and trained pilots will have an outsized impact on the country's ability to operate the planes.
The Russian army is making slow but gradual progress in its drive into eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces are holding ground in the Kursk border region of western Russia after a recent incursion.
