The pilot Andrii Pilshchykov, considered one of the heroes of the defense of Kyiv in the first phase of the war, died in a training accident along with two other colleagues, the Ukrainian army reported.
The army called the death of the pilots “painful and irreparable” and paid special tribute to Pilshchykov, calling it a highly talented and knowledgeable aviator.
The accident affected two L-39 Albatros planes that were doing training flights hundreds of kilometers from the front, in northern Ukraine. Three pilots died in the accident. Among them was the so-called ‘best driver from Ukraine’, Andrii Pilshchykov callsign ‘Juice’.
The Uranian president, Volodomir Zelensky, alluded to the death of the pilots in his evening message, saying that he “will never forget whoever defends the skies of Ukraine.”
The accident took place just as Ukraine is preparing to receive 61 F-16 jets for which Ukrainian pilots will undergo special training.
