Three Ukrainian Air Force pilots, including a decorated officer, were killed in a collision between two Ukrainian planes on Friday, the country’s authorities said on Saturday.
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This accident represents a major setback for Kiev, which wants to acquire American F-16 aircraft to bolster its Soviet-era fleet and boost its counter-offensive against the Russian army.
“We extend our condolences to the families of the victims. “It is a painful and irretrievable loss for all of us,” the Ukrainian Air Force said, calling the crash “terrible.”
The crash happened in the Zhytomyr region of northern Ukraine and involved two L-39 fighter training aircraft, she added, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
An Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat said one of the pilots killed – Andrii Pilshchykov, known by the nickname “Juice” – was a young officer with “super knowledge and great talent”.
“Andrii Pilschykov devoted his short, but very brilliant life to the fight against aviation. He dreamed of seeing F-16s in the Ukrainian sky,” he said in a tribute published on social networks.
“You were more than a friend. Rest in peace you’ve done so much for us,” he added.