A top Ukrainian pilot was killed when a newly arrived F-16 crashed during a Russian missile attack on Ukraine. And NBC News spoke with a Ukrainian commander inside a Russian area now controlled by Ukraine. NBC News' Erin McLaughlin reports.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the commander of the country’s air force Friday, four days after an F-16 warplane that Ukraine received from its Western partners crashed during a Russian bombardment and killed the pilot. The order to dismiss Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk was published on the presidential website. “We need to protect people. Protect personnel. Take care of all our soldiers,” Zelenskyy said in an address minutes after the order was published.
The Kharkiv strike “wouldn’t have happened if our defense forces had the capability to destroy Russian military aviation at its bases. We need strong decisions from our partners to stop this terror,” Zelenskyy said. F-16s are one of the weapons that could be used to hit Russian bases behind the front line. Oleshchuk said on Telegram that “a detailed analysis” was already being conducted into why the F-16 jet went down Monday, when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine.
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