President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had decided to replace the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk, emphasizing the need to strengthen and protect the personnel, UNN reports.
"Now is the time for conclusions. I decided to replace the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I am immensely grateful to all our military pilots, engineers, soldiers of mobile firing groups and air defense units. Everyone who really fights for Ukraine - for the result. And this is also needed at the command level - we need to get stronger. And we must take care of people. Take care of the personnel. Take care of all our soldiers," Zelensky said.
Previously
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykola Oleshchuk from the post of Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Subsequently, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the appointment of Lieutenant General Anatoliy Kryvonozhko as acting commander of the Air Force.
Add
On August 29, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces officially confirmed the loss of an F-16 fighter jet and the death of the pilot while repelling a Russian missile attack. The aircraft shot down 4 cruise missiles but crashed while approaching the next target.
The General Staff added that a special commission of the Ministry of Defense has been appointed to investigate the causes of the crash and is working in the area of the plane's crash.
Recall
Ukrainian pilot Lieutenant Colonel Oleksiy Mes was killed when his F-16 fighter jet crashed on Monday, August 26. The Air Command "West" of the Ukrainian Air Force reported that the pilot was killed while repelling a Russian massive combined missile and air strike and destroyed three cruise missiles and one attack UAV.