Umierov on dismissal of Air Force Commander Oleshchuk: I would probably say that this is rotation
Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has denied that the dismissal of the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, is linked to the crash of the US F-16 fighter jet and the death of one of Ukraine's best pilots, Oleksii Mes.
According to Censor.NET, Umierov said this in an interview with CNN.
"I would probably say that it is a rotation. These are two separate issues... I would not link them at this stage," Umierov said.
Umerov also called the death of the pilot "unfortunate" and noted that Ukraine is investigating what happened.
"We are analysing what happened. We have also opened this case to our partners so that they can also analyse it and investigate it with us," the minister added.
As a reminder, on the evening of 29 August, the General Staff of Ukraine confirmed the loss of an F-16 fighter jet during a Russian missile strike on Ukraine.
Earlier it became known that on 26 August, pilot Oleksii Mes was killed while repelling a Russian missile attack.
The deputy head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence, Servant of the People Mariana Bezugla, said that the F-16 fighter jet of Ukrainian pilot Oleksii "Moonfish" Mes was shot down by a Patriot missile system due to discoordination between units.
On Friday, 30 August, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Mykola Oleshchuk from the post of commander of the Ukrainian Air Force.
