KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. experts have joined a Ukrainian investigation into why an F-16 warplane that Ukraine received from its Western partners crashed earlier this week during a Russian bombardment, the country’s air force commander said Friday.
Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram that “a detailed analysis is already being conducted” into why the fighter jet went down on Monday, when Russia launched a major missile and drone barrage at Ukraine.
“We must carefully understand what happened, what the circumstances are, and whose responsibility it is,” Oleshchuk wrote in the post.
The crash was the first reported loss of an F-16 in Ukraine, where they arrived at the end of last month. At least six of the warplanes are believed to have been delivered by European countries.
Military analysts say the planes won’t be a game-changer in the war, given Russia’s massive air force and sophisticated air defense systems. But Ukrainian officials welcomed the supersonic jets, which can carry modern weapons used by NATO countries, for bringing an opportunity to hit back at Russia’s air superiority.
Russia’s army is making slow but gradual progress in its drive into eastern Ukraine, while Ukraine’s forces are holding ground in the Kursk border region of western Russia after a recent incursion.
Oleshchuk, the Ukrainian air force chief, directed scathing criticism at a lawmaker who is deputy head of the Ukraine…
