Ukraine’s defence minister says Air Force commander’s dismissal not linked to recent F-16 crash

Rustem Umierov. Photo: Getty Images

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has emphasised that the dismissal of former Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk is not connected to the recent death of Oleksii Mes, one of Ukraine’s finest pilots, who was killed when a US-supplied F-16 fighter jet crashed a few days ago.

Source: Umierov in an interview with CNN

Quote: “I would probably say this is a rotation. This is two separate issues… at this stage, I would not connect them.”

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Details: Umierov described the death of the F-16 pilot as “unfortunate” and said that Ukraine is conducting an investigation into the incident.

Quote: “We’re analysing what happened. We’ve also opened this file to our partners so they are also analysing this and investigating along with us.”

Background:

• On 29 August, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while repelling a Russian missile strike. The pilot lost his life.
• Ukrainian pilot Oleksii Mes was killed while repelling a large-scale combined Russian missile and drone attack on 26 August.
• On 30 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a decree dismissing Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, who had held the post since August 2021.
• Lieutenant General Anatolii Kryvonozhko, Commander of Air Command Tsentr (Centre), has been appointed as the acting Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force.

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