MOSCOW, August 30. /TASS/. Ukraine’s old-time top brass holding their posts since the time of former President Viktor Yanukovich are leading the country to a defeat in the conflict with Russia, a Ukrainian lawmaker said, commenting on the loss of a Ukrainian F-16 fighter jet.
"Generals who have been holding their posts since Yanukovich’s time continue following old-time-schemes and are fostering disciples of the same sort. ‘Classical’ generals are leading us to a defeat. Step by step. They don’t let a really new generation take commanding positions and support only their stooges," Maryana Bezuglaya, a member of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), wrote on her Telegram channel.
An unnamed US official confirmed to The Wall Street Journal on August 29 that Ukraine had lost one of the F-16 fighter jets supplied by the West. The official claimed that the plane had not been shot down but crashed to due to piloting error. Later, the Ukrainian armed forces confirmed the death of pilot Alexey Mes, who, according to CNN, had undergone F-16 piloting training. According to Bezuglaya, Ukraine’s top brass tried to hush up the fact that the fighter jet had been shot down by the Ukrainian military by mistake.