Zelenskyy fires Ukraine’s air force commander after deadly F-16 crash

President Zelenskyy dismisses Mykola Oleshchuk, says country needs to ‘protect personnel’.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired the commander of the country’s air force, four days after an F-16 warplane that Ukraine received from its Western partners crashed during a Russian bombardment and killed the pilot.

The order to dismiss Mykola Oleshchuk was published on the presidential website on Friday.

“We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers,” Zelenskyy said in an address minutes after the order was published. He said Ukraine needs to strengthen its army on the command level.

Anatolii Kryvonozhko was appointed acting air force commander, the army’s general staff said.

The dismissal came on the same day that Oleshchuk directed scathing criticism at a lawmaker who is deputy head of the Ukrainian parliament’s defence committee for her claims that the F-16 was downed by a Patriot air-defense system. Ukraine has received an unspecified number of the US-made systems.

Mariana Bezuhla cited unnamed sources for her claim and demanded punishment for those responsible for the error.

Oleshchuk accused Bezuhla of defaming the air force and discrediting US arms manufacturers and said that he hoped she would face legal consequences for her claims.

“The truth will win,” Bezuhla posted on X shortly after the dismissal order was published.

The air force did not directly deny that the F-16 was hit by a Patriot missile.

US experts have joined the Ukrainian investigation into the crash, the air force said.

A US defence official told the Reuters news agency that the crash did not appear to be the result of Russian fire, and possible causes from pilot error to mechanical failure were still being investigated.

F-16s are one of the weapons that could be used to hit Russian bases behind the front line.

Oleshchuk said on Telegram that “a detailed analysis” was already being conducted into why the F-16 jet went down Monday, when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine.

“We must carefully understand what happened, what the circumstances are, and whose responsibility it is,” Oleshchuk wrote in the post shortly before his dismissal.

The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where the warplanes arrived at the end of last month. At least six are believed to have been delivered by European countries.

Military analysts have said the planes will not be a game-changer in the war, given Russia’s massive air force and sophisticated air defence systems. But Ukrainian officials welcomed the supersonic jets, which can carry modern weapons used by NATO countries, for offering an opportunity to hit back at Russia’s air superiority.