Ukraine says one of its F-16 jets has crashed
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00:00It's an embarrassing setback for Kiev. Just weeks after receiving Western-donated F-16
00:07fighter jets to counter the Russian forces, the Ukrainian military has reported the first
00:12loss of one of those jets, claiming the plane and pilot, Alexei Mess, crashed after shooting
00:18down Russian missiles earlier in the week.
00:21Following the crash, President Zelensky was quick to replace his Air Force commander,
00:25Mikola Oleshchuk, but did not provide further details as to why he made that decision.
00:31I decided to replace the commander of the Air Force. I am infinitely grateful to all
00:39our military pilots, our engineers, our soldiers of mobile fire groups and air defence calculations,
00:47to everyone who really fights for Ukraine. And it's necessary at the team level as well.
00:53We must be strong. We must protect people. To protect personnel means to protect all
00:59our soldiers.
01:04The incident has sparked debate in Ukraine, with a Kiev lawmaker from the Parliament's
01:08Defence and Security Committee claiming that the country's own air defence system shot
01:14down the F-16 jet. But as an investigation into the crash is underway, aviation experts
01:20say there could be several causes for the accident.
01:26Regarding the causes of the crash, it should be noted that three reasons have been made
01:31public. Allegedly, a crew error, a technical malfunction or our own air defence systems.
01:38These are three reasons out of perhaps ten reasons that may be considered in the investigation.
01:46The fighter jet loss comes as Russian forces continue to advance in eastern Ukraine, despite
01:53Kiev's shock offensive into Western Russia, which started earlier this month, making President
01:59Zelensky's need for reinforced Western support even more urgent.