Zelensky Fires Ukraine’s Air Force Chief After Fatal Crash of F-16 Jet

Dismissal comes as a Ukrainian lawmaker contends the jet was downed by an American-made Patriot air-defense system.

AP/Efrem Lukatsky
President Zelensky and a Ukraine Air Force F-16 fighter jet in the background on August 4, 2024. AP/Efrem Lukatsky

KYIV — President Zelensky 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.

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