{"id":1087,"date":"2026-02-23T16:13:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:13:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.landingliker.info\/?p=1087"},"modified":"2026-02-23T16:13:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:13:22","slug":"ukrainian-pilot-juice-among-three-killed-in-jet-collision-zelenskiy-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.landingliker.info\/?p=1087","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainian pilot \u2018Juice\u2019 among three killed in jet collision, Zelenskiy says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Three Ukrainian military pilots, including one nicknamed \u201cJuice\u201d who campaigned in the US for the supply of F-16s, were killed on Friday when two combat training aircraft collided in an accident over a region west of Kyiv, Ukraine\u2019s air force has said in an indication of the risks faced by its members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukraine\u2019s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in his nightly video address that the three men included Andriy Pilshchykov, \u201ca Ukrainian officer, one of those who greatly helped our state\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investigators have begun to look into the causes of the accident, as the air force said there was no suggestion of Russian involvement. However, the incident underlines the risks to Ukrainian pilots who are often having to rely on old Soviet airframes that would not be in use were it not for the war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fluent in English, Pilshchykov was one of two pilots who went to Washington DC last summer to meet members of the US C\u043engress and lobby for F-16 planes for Ukraine, and he appeared regularly in US media to further the country\u2019s case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The extended lobbying effort finally succeeded earlier this month when\u00a0Denmark and the Netherlands\u00a0said they would supply the jets. A spokesperson for Ukraine\u2019s air force said it was confident Ukraine would eventually end up with 120 F-16s, with the first likely to be flying over the country\u2019s skies early next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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However, the accident robbed Pilshchykov of the chance. \u201cYou can\u2019t even imagine how much he wanted to fly an F-16,\u201d the air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat wrote online. \u201cBut now that American planes are actually on the horizon, he will not fly them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilshchykov\u2019s call sign, \u201cJuice\u201d, was given to him by US pilots during a joint training exercise because he would not drink alcohol. Inhat told the Guardian Pilshchykov also regularly flew combat missions, intercepting cruise missiles and drones, as well as seeking to introduce reforms to Ukraine\u2019s air force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inhat said: \u201cHe was also trying to bring Nato standards into Ukraine \u2026 and even western traditions, such as the burning of pianos to honour a fallen pilot.\u201d On Saturday night, an upright piano was set alight on what appeared to be a remote runway to mark the deaths of the three men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other dead pilots were named by the air force as Maj Vyacheslav Minka and Maj Sergey Prokazin. \u201cWe express our condolences to the families of the victims. This is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us,\u201d the air force said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyiv has received promises for a potential total of more than 60 F-16s from Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway, and Inhat said Ukraine \u201cwould need around 120 fighter jets to make a difference\u201d on the battlefield. \u201cWe have no doubt we will get to that amount,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until now, Ukraine\u2019s small air force has been relying on ageing Soviet-era fighter jets such as the MiG-29, which Pilshchykov flew. Pilots have to fly metres from the ground to evade enemy radar, with Kyiv unable to afford significant losses as the war continues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 This article is more than 2 years old<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ukrainian pilot \u2018Juice\u2019 among three killed in jet collision, Zelenskiy says<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This article is more than 2 years old<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air force says Andriy Pilshchykov, advocate of F-16s for Ukraine, among dead after two training planes came down west of Kyiv<\/p>\n\n\n\n