Ukraine has only had Western jets for a few weeks, and already there is one less. The official version of a crash due to pilot error is being questioned. There is another suspicion.
The Ukrainian Air Force is getting a new leadership after the loss of an F-16 fighter jet. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the previous Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk. Although no official reason was given, the connection with the loss of the valuable western aircraft and its pilot was obvious. Anatoly Kryvonoshko was appointed as acting commander, the General Staff announced.
“I would probably say that this is a rotation, but it is unfortunate,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov in an interview with CNN when asked whether the dismissal had anything to do with the loss of the fighter jet. These were two “different issues.” Umyerov stressed that the investigation into the cause was still ongoing. “I don’t want to make any assumptions.”
Only on Thursday did the General Staff confirm that one of the few F-16 aircraft had been lost during operations against a massive Russian air attack on Monday. There was talk of a crash. However, Ukrainian MPs and activists did not rule out the possibility that it had been accidentally shot down by the country’s own air defenses.
At least six people were killed in a Russian airstrike on the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine on Friday. Shortly afterwards, reports emerged from the other side of the border in the Russian city of Belgorod that five people had been killed by Ukrainian shelling there.
The night of Saturday also began with an air raid warning in the north-eastern part of Ukraine, close to the front. According to the Air Force, Russian combat drones were flying over Ukraine. The country has been fending off a large-scale Russian invasion for two and a half years.
Was the Ukrainian F-16 hit by its own air defenses?
“I have decided to dismiss the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force,” said Zelensky in his evening video address on Friday. He thanked all members of the Air Force who really achieved results for Ukraine. “This also applies to the command level. We must become stronger. And protect our people.”
Shortly before his dismissal, Oleshchuk criticized a member of parliament who cast doubt on the official version of the crash. He wrote that she was promoting Russian propaganda and threatened to take her to court. The loss of the plane would be investigated, including in cooperation with the USA, the country where the plane was manufactured. Defense politician Maryana Besuhla had written on the social network X that the plane had been hit by a Ukrainian Patriot air defense system due to a lack of coordination.
Dead in Kharkiv as in Belgorod
According to official figures, at least five people were killed by shelling from the Ukrainian side in the Russian city of Belgorod, which is close to the border. In addition, there were at least 37 injured, including six children, said regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Because the Russian army uses the border region of Belgorod as a starting point for its attacks on Kharkiv, the region is frequently shelled by the Ukrainian side.
In Kharkiv, six people were killed in a Russian air strike, including a 14-year-old girl. According to military governor Oleh Synjehubov, at least 40 people were injured. According to official reports, guided aerial bombs hit a 12-story apartment building, which partially collapsed.
“A blow that would not have happened if our defense forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aircraft where they are stationed,” said Zelensky in a message on Telegram. In view of the destruction, he once again called for the release of long-range Western weapons against targets in Russia.
USA wants to help with air defense
Zelensky’s Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Defense Minister Umerov are holding talks with the US in Washington on this issue. After a meeting with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon, Umerov said that the US was analyzing the Ukrainians’ arguments and that he hoped he had been heard. But Austin said after the meeting that Ukraine’s air defenses should be strengthened. The United States wants to push for this at the next meeting of the Ukraine Contact Group in Ramstein next week.
The television station CNN had previously reported that the Ukrainian side also wanted to present the US government with a list of potential targets in Russia. By hitting Russian command posts, airfields, ammunition depots and barracks, Ukraine could fend off many attacks in the first place. So far, the USA has limited the use of its weapons against Russia to fending off the Russian offensive against Kharkiv.
Where do EU countries train Ukrainian soldiers?
The EU states have set a new goal for the training of Ukrainian armed forces. According to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, another 15,000 soldiers are to be trained in the European Union by the end of the year. Together with the soldiers already trained, the total number will then reach 75,000, the Spaniard said after a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.
According to Borrell, there is still no unified position on the question of whether Ukrainian soldiers should be trained in Ukraine itself in the future. Several EU states had previously shown themselves open to the idea. “We have to take military and political considerations into account, but we are not ruling out the possibility,” said Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson. Training in Ukraine is a security issue for instructors from EU states. Some states, such as Poland, consider training on their territory to be too costly.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
