Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has dismissed the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force (UAF), Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, he announced on Friday, one day after the loss of Kyiv’s first F-16 fighter jet was announced.
The pilot flying the F-16 was killed when the plane crashed on Monday in an operation to repel a massive Russian missile attack, the UAF said.
The UAF honoured the dead pilot, Oleksiy Mes, calling him “a strong and dedicated warrior, a highly skilled pilot” and a patriot. “Oleksiy saved Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles. Unfortunately, at the cost of his own life,” the tribute read.
The AFU said the Ukrainian Defence Ministry had established a commission to investigate the causes of the crash, and named Lieutenant General Anatoliy Kryvonozhko as Oleshchuk’s temporary replacement. Oleshchuk had been in the position for three years.