After the offensive in the Kursk region, there is strong criticism of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, that in this way he weakened the positions of his army in Eastern Ukraine, and more specifically in the Pokrovsky direction, reported focus.de.
According to the Financial Times, Russian forces are already only 8 kilometers from Pokrovsk – an important strategic city through which the logistics of the ZSU in the region passes. Its loss could be followed by the loss of other cities, which would allow Russia to occupy the entire Donetsk region.
Ukrainian soldiers talk about “complete failure” of the defense in Pokrovsk, which is the fault of the commanders in Kiev, who sent some of their most elite units to Kursk and not to Donbass.
In the strategically important Donetsk region, the position of Ukrainian troops has been weakened due to the shift of focus to the Kursk region. Local military analysts and soldiers on the ground expressed concern about the city's inadequate defenses. They warned of a rapid collapse of Ukrainian defenses in the region.
On this background, Ukraine lost one of its best military pilots – Oleksiy Mes with the call sign Moonfish. His F-16 crashed on Monday during Russia's largest air attack since the first day of the war. Hundreds of missiles and drones were fired at Ukraine's energy infrastructure across the country. The pilot shot down 3 cruise missiles and a drone on August 26.
Holosameryky.com, citing sources in the Air Force of Ukraine, reported that the friendly fire version should not be ruled out. MP Maryana Bezugla was the first to announce that the Western plane may have been shot down by the "Patriot" anti-aircraft missile complex. due to a lack of coordination between units in the Ukrainian forces.
Sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said various options were being considered, including a "friendly fire" of air defense systems, technical malfunction and pilot error. But the exact reasons will be known only after the investigation is completed. Western experts may also be invited.
One of the few F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine received from its Western partners to help fight the Russian invasion has crashed, killing the pilot, the Ukrainian Air Force said yesterday, confirming media reports. This is a heavy loss for Ukraine. In early August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented the first F-16 fighter jets that his country received. During the ceremony, he stated that their number is not yet sufficient.
The American The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources in the armed forces of Ukraine, that the likely cause was pilot error. CNN later published a statement, citing its sources, that the armed forces did not consider pilot error to be the cause of the accident. At the moment, it is only known who the deceased pilot is and when the accident happened - on Monday, August 26. It is not clear why the pilot, considered one of the most elite in Ukrainian combat aviation, was unable to eject.
Yesterday, President Zelensky had an important conversation with Sirsky about what is happening in Eastern Ukraine. "All the details of this meeting are classified," Zelensky said after the meeting. The situation around Pokrovsk is currently critical. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Oleksandr Sirsky, indicated that he had spent several days on the eastern front near Pokrovsk, where Russian pressure has recently increased. "The fighting in the Pokrovsk area is extremely heavy. The Russian occupiers are throwing into battle everything that can move and are advancing, trying to break through the defense of the Ukrainian troops," Sirsky wrote in Telegram, quoted by the UNIAN agency.