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Two Zelenskyy moves on 30 August 2024
Summary
A retrospective on a day when Ukraine's president dismissed his air force chief and pressed Mongolia over Vladimir Putin.
What did Volodymyr Zelenskyy signal on 30 August 2024, and to whom? Two decisions that day pointed in different directions: one at home, one abroad.
On the domestic front, Ukraine's president dismissed Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force. The dismissal followed the crash of an F-16 fighter jet and the death of its pilot while defending against Russian strikes.
Abroad, Zelenskyy urged Mongolia to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin was travelling to Ulaanbaatar, in what was his first visit to a member state of the International Criminal Court since the court issued an arrest warrant for him.
Two audiences
The first decision was a matter of military leadership, taken as the air force was operating under Russian strikes. The second was an appeal to a foreign government to act on its obligations as an ICC member state.
Together they show Kyiv working on two tracks on the same day: managing its own command after a loss, and pressing its case with partners and neighbours of Russia.
