On 30 August, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk.
The relevant decree was published on the President's website.
"To dismiss Mykola Mykolayovych Oleshchuk from the post of Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the document reads.
In his evening address, President Zelenskyy said that he had "decided to replace the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine".
"I am immensely grateful to all our military pilots, engineers, soldiers of mobile firing groups, air defence units. All those who really fight for Ukraine - for the result. And we need to do the same at the command level - we need to get stronger. And we need to take care of people. Take care of the personnel. Take care of all our soldiers," he said.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that, in accordance with the order of the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Anatoliy Krivonozhko will temporarily perform duties instead of Oleshchuk. He is currently the commander of the Centre Air Command.
Today, Oleshchuk published a post addressing MP Mariana Bezuhla, who said that the F-16 was allegedly shot down by Ukrainian air defence. Oleshchuk said he hoped that Mariana would be held accountable for her actions in court.