Ukrainian president sacks air force commander following F-16 crash controversy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed Lt Gen Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine's Air Force, amid controversy surrounding the recent destruction of one of Ukraine's newly acquired F-16 fighter jets.

The reason for the dismissal was not specified, but Zelenskyy mentioned in a Telegram post that he has a duty to "take care of all our warriors," News.Az reports.

The F-16, supplied by Ukraine's Western allies, crashed during a Russian missile attack on Monday, resulting in the death of the pilot. Ukrainian officials have stated that the crash was not directly caused by Russian fire. Lt Gen Oleshchuk had been involved in disputes with some politicians over accountability for the incident.

In his Telegram post, Zelenskyy said he had decided to replace Lt Gen Oleschuk, noting that "at the command level, we must strengthen ourselves and protect our people".

"I am immensely grateful to all our military pilots, all engineers, all mobile fire group warriors, and all air defence personnel," he added.

"To everyone who is truly fighting for Ukraine, for results. And this is just as necessary at the command level, we must strengthen ourselves and protect our people. Protect the personnel, protect all our warriors."

News.Az