Ukrainian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Mykola Oleshchuk was fired on Friday, August 30, by President Volodymyr Zelensky. The decision comes four days after the loss of one of ten US-made aircraft received in kyiv and the death of its pilot, the highly publicized Oleksi Mes.
Mykola Olechchuk, 52, has been in office since 2021 and comes from the air defence sector. He is replaced by Anatoly Krivonojko, 59, a man with a different profile, as he is a former airline pilot.
The circumstances of the destruction of the F-16 are not yet clearly established, but we know that the aircraft was carrying out a mission to protect Ukrainian airspace at the time of the Russian attack, the most massive since the beginning of the war. On Monday, August 26, Russia launched 127 missiles of various types and 109 Shahed-type attack drones. We also know that several F-16s have carried out missions to shoot down enemy missiles.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force Command (known by the Ukrainian acronym PSU), the F-16s destroyed four missiles. Oleksi Mes’s plane (war name: “Moonfish”) did not go missing due to pilot error or was shot down by Russian fighters, says the PSU, which has opened an investigation in which international experts are invited to participate.
“Poor coordination”
Without waiting for the conclusions of an investigation that could last several months, a Ukrainian MP known for her tirades against unpleasant personalities in the presidency attacked Commander-in-Chief Mykola Oleshchouk in the head on Thursday. Member of the parliament’s defence committee, MP Mariana Bezuhla, denounced the ” silence “, about the incident, of these “Old-fashioned generals are leading us to defeat.” According to her, the F-16 was mistakenly shot down by a Patriot air defense system (supplied by the United States). “Due to poor coordination between units.” Still according to Mme Bezuhla, it would be “At least the third Ukrainian aircraft lost to friendly fire”.
Mykola Oleshchouk immediately responded to the fire on his Telegram channel, calling it critical. “an instrument used to discredit the military command”promising that “The time will come when [Mariana] “Come to court and apologize in front of the entire army for what you have done.”. In passing, he accuses the deputy of discrediting at the same time the American manufacturer of the Patriot system.
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