General Nikolai Oleshchuk confirmed on Friday the reports of The Wall Street Journal that on August 26 – during a massive Russian airstrike – Kyiv lost its first fighter F-16 and an experienced pilot.
War in Ukraine. A row over the loss of an F-16 fighter
“Yes, August 26, 2024, the day of the large-scale (Russian – ed.) shelling Ukrainywe lost a trained pilot, we lost an F-16, but we did not lose our humanity and faith in victory,” the military officer said.
He added that the cause of the disaster is being investigated. “Nobody hid anything and nobody is hiding anything,” he emphasized, adding that the initial report on the matter was immediately received by the highest management and partners from the US. He noted that such events should not be immediately made public or shown in detail in the media, because there is a war going on in the country.
Air Force Commander to MP: You will beg for forgiveness
“But it is indifferent to the people who chose Mariana Bezuhlo like a tool to discredit the highest military command. Hanging dogs on the army will not help” – assessed Oleszczuk, then added: “Mariana, there will come a time when you will ask for forgiveness for what you have done in front of the entire army, I hope in court“.
“Once again you have become the main transmitter of enemy propaganda and you are breaking all records on Russian television! All Russia rooting for you,” he noted.
Ołeszczuk responded in this way to the allegations made by the former party MP Servant of the Nationwho accused him on her social media that hides the fact that the fighter was shot down by Ukrainian air defense. According to Bezuhła, it should be already the third such caseexcept that other planes were allegedly shot down earlier – probably post-Soviet fighters.
Mariana Bezuhla attacked the Ukrainian army. Sharp reactions from the army
As the politician claims, Ukrainian Air Force wanted to hide the truth about the F-16 shooting down, but they failed because the event was covered by “The Wall Street Journal”. “The culture of lies leads us to failure” – she summed up in a post on Facebooku.
The colonel and former marshal of the Ukrainian Air Force also reacted to Bezuhlo's words. Jurij Ignat“Can someone write an application for Bezuhła to State Bureau of Investigation? How long will this last? mockery of the country and soldiers? It's definitely here Security Service of Ukrainethere is a task for you,” he wrote on social media.
Let us recall: on August 26, during a large-scale Russian air attack on Ukraine, F-16 fighters allegedly shot down four cruise missiles. An American newspaper reported that the F-16 that crashed that day, he wasn't shot down by Russians. Pilot error is cited as one of the possible causes of the crash.
On August 29, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the loss of the F-16 aircraft and the death of the pilot Aleksieja MesaA special commission of the Ministry of National Defense was also established to investigate the causes of the incident.
Source: UNIAN, Facebook