Ukraine says US experts helping to understand why Ukrainian F-16 crashed

kyiv, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday fired the commander in chief of the country's air force, four days after an F-16 fighter jet that Ukraine had received from its Western partners crashed during a Russian bombing raid, killing the pilot.

The order to dismiss Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk was published on the presidential website.

“We must protect people, protect personnel, take care of all our soldiers,” Zelensky said in a speech minutes after the order was issued. He added that Ukraine needed to strengthen its military at the command level.

Lieutenant General Anatolii Kryvonozhko has been appointed acting commander of the Air Force, the Army General Staff said.

The dismissal comes on the same day that Oleshchuk sharply criticized a lawmaker, deputy chair of the Ukrainian parliament's defense committee, for her statements that the F-16 was shot down by a Patriot air defense system. Ukraine has received an unspecified number of the American-made systems.

Mariana Bezuhla cited anonymous sources to support her claims and demanded that those responsible for the error be punished.

Oleshchuk accused Bezuhla of defaming the Air Force and discrediting U.S. weapons manufacturers and said he hoped she would face legal consequences for her allegations.

The truth will prevail, Bezuhla wrote on X shortly after the dismissal order was published.

The Air Force has not directly denied that the F-16 was hit by a Patriot missile.

American experts have joined the Ukrainian investigation into the crash, the Air Force said.

Meanwhile, a Russian attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv using powerful gliding bombs dropped from aircraft killed six people, including a 14-year-old girl on a playground, and wounded 47 others, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said.

The bombs hit five locations in the city, which had a pre-war population of 1.4 million people, the governor said.

One of the bombs hit a 12-story building, setting the building ablaze and trapping at least one person on an upper floor. Rescue teams searching for survivors feared the structure would collapse.

Ukrainian rockets also hit the Russian city of Belgorod and its environs on Friday evening, killing five people and wounding 37 others, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. The region, which borders northern Ukraine, is the target of almost daily drone and artillery attacks.

Zelensky stressed that the Kharkiv strikes were further evidence that Western partners should remove restrictions on what the Ukrainian military can target with the donated weapons.

“The attack on Kharkiv would not have happened if our defense forces had the ability to destroy Russian military aviation at its bases. We need strong decisions from our partners to put an end to this terrorism,” Zelensky said.

F-16s are one of the weapons that could be used to strike Russian bases behind the front line.

Oleshchuk said on Telegram that a detailed analysis was already underway to determine why the F-16 jet crashed on Monday, when Russia launched a major barrage of missiles and drones on Ukraine.

“We need to carefully understand what happened, what the circumstances are and who is responsible,” Oleshchuk wrote in a message published shortly before his dismissal.

This is the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where the fighter jets arrived late last month. At least six of them are believed to have been delivered by European countries.

Military analysts say the planes will not be a game changer in the war, given Russia's massive air force and sophisticated air defense systems. But Ukrainian officials have welcomed the arrival of the supersonic jets, which can carry modern weapons used by NATO countries, as an opportunity to counter Russia's air superiority.

On the ground, the Russian military is making slow but steady progress in its advance into eastern Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces are holding firm in the Kursk border region in western Russia after a recent incursion.

The Institute for the Study of War said it expected Ukraine to lose some Western-supplied military equipment in the fighting.

But the Washington-based think tank added that any loss among Ukraine's already limited contingent of F-16s and trained pilots would have an outsized impact on the country's ability to operate F-16s “as part of its combined air defense umbrella or in an air-to-ground support role.”

In addition, European Union defence ministers agreed in Brussels to strengthen their programme of training Ukrainian troops.

Ministers agreed today to raise the target to 75,000, adding another 15,000 by the end of the year, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters after the meeting.

The training should be shortened and tailored to Ukrainian needs, Borrell said. He added that the EU would set up a small coordination and liaison cell in the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, to make the training effort more effective.

So far, 60,000 soldiers have completed the bloc training program, which is taking place outside Ukraine.

___

Associated Press writer Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos