President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy today, August 30, signed a decree on the dismissal of Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk from the post of commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Air Force will be temporarily headed by the commander of the Center Air Command of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Anatoliy Kryvonozhko.
Anatoly Kryvonozhko
"I decided to replace the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I am infinitely grateful to all our military pilots, engineers, soldiers of mobile fire groups, air defense calculations. To everyone who is really fighting for Ukraine — for the result," the president commented on Oleshchukʼs dismissal.
He emphasized that at the command level it is necessary to "strengthen, protect people, protect personnel, protect all our soldiers."
Mykola Oleschuk has been the commander of the Air Force since 2021. He was dismissed from his post after the crash of the F-16 fighter jet on August 26. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on the disaster. The media writes that the plane was not shot down by Russia, although the incident occurred during massive Russian missile attacks on August 26. The crash was probably caused by "pilot error." Against this background, the Zahid Air Command of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces reported that on August 26, pilot Oleksiy Mes died.
CNN writes that it was Mes who piloted the F-16 fighter that crashed. However, unlike the WSJ, CNNʼs sources in the ZSU do not believe that pilot error was the cause of the incident.
Peopleʼs deputy Maryana Bezugla said that the F-16, piloted by Mes, was shot down from the Patriot anti-aircraft missile complex "due to a lack of coordination between units." She accused the Air Force of lying.
Later, Bezugla also stated that the F-16 crash was at least the third time when a Ukrainian plane with a pilot was shot down by its own air defense. She demanded that Oleschuk make a statement.
Instead, Oleschuk said that he did not hide information about the wreckage of the F-16 plane, explaining that during the war, such information cannot immediately enter the public space. He also called Bezugla "a tool for discrediting the top military leadership."
What is known about Kryvonozhka
Since 2015, he has been in command of the Center Air Command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Before that, from 2006 to 2008, Kryvonozhko served as the commander of the 114th tactical aviation brigade. He has the title of Hero of Ukraine with the award of the Golden Star Order, the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II and III degrees, as well as the Order of Danylo Halytskyi.