WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine's air force commander dismissed after F-16 crash

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Friday, according to a presidential decree.

The dismissal was announced just a day after the Ukrainian military reported that an F-16 jet crashed and its pilot died while repelling a major Russian strike on Monday.

"I have decided to replace the commander of the Air Forces... I am eternally grateful to all our military pilots," President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening address.

He did not give a reason for dismissal but mentioned that personnel must be protected, and that there was a need to strengthen the command level.

Ukraine's General Staff said that General Lieutenant Anatoliy Kryvonozhka would temporarily perform the duties of commander.

The Ukrainian military did not provide a reason for Monday's crash but said the jet came down while it was approaching a Russian target. Oleshchuk said on Monday partners from the U.S. were helping to investigate the incident.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters that the crash did not appear to be the result of Russian fire, and possible causes from pilot error to mechanical failure were still being investigated.

The arrival of the first F-16 jets was a milestone for Ukraine in the fight against the full-scale invasion Russia launched 2-1/2 years ago.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian military blames Zelensky for battlefield setbacks – FT

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has reportedly come under a “barrage of criticism” from his own soldiers, lawmakers and military analysts after Russian forces managed to make rapid advances in Donbass and push back Kiev’s troops, the Financial Times claimed on Friday.

According to the UK outlet, due to Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region earlier this month, which involved the redeployment of thousands of Ukraine’s most battle-hardened troops, many of its forces fighting in the Russian Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have ended up being stretched thin and have been struggling to hold their ground.

This week, Ukraine’s front line in the region was breached by Russian forces who have been closing in on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in the west of the DPR, which represents one of the key rail and road junctions in the region. Frontelligence Insight, a Ukrainian analytical group cited by the FT, say the loss of the city would be a serious blow to the Ukrainian military’s logistics.

The current situation on the edge of Pokrovsk has been described as a “complete defensive failure” for the Ukrainian military, according to Alexander Kovalenko, a military analyst at the Kiev-based Information Resistance group.

Other military experts, including those within the Deep State group, which is said to have ties to Ukraine’s defense ministry, have described the situation on the front line as “complete chaos,” stating that Russian forces have been advancing more rapidly in the region since Kiev launched its incursion on August 6 than in the months before.

Kiev’s troops have also been sharing their frustration with Zelensky and his commanders, with one serviceman being quoted by the FT as saying that he has “never seen anything like this” and that “everything is falling apart so quickly.” 

Zhenya, who serves within Ukraine’s 93rd Mechanized Brigade and fought in the 10-month-long battle for Artemovsk last year, reportedly warned that “Pokrovsk will fall much faster than Bakhmut did,” according to the British outlet.

Meanwhile, Zelensky himself has described the situation on the front line near Pokrovsk as “extremely difficult.” His top commander, Aleksandr Syrsky, has also admitted that Kiev’s gambit in Kursk had failed to force Russia to divert its troops from Pokrovsk, as Moscow refused to take the bait.

According to the latest figures from the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev’s incursion has cost Ukraine more than 7,800 service members, 75 tanks, and more than 500 armored vehicles.

Reuters/RT