Three Ukrainian air force pilots, including a well-known fighter jet pilot with the call sign “Juice,” were killed in a mid-air collision on Friday, the country’s government announced on Saturday.
The crash is a big setback for Kyiv, which was hoping to acquire modern F-16 aircraft to bolster its air force from the Soviet era and boost its counteroffensive.
“We express our condolences to the families of the victims. This is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us,” Ukraine’s air force said, calling the crash “terrible”.
Two L-39 combat training aircraft were involved in the incident, which occurred in northern Ukraine’s Zhytomyr region, it said, adding that an investigation was ongoing.
Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said one of the pilots killed — Andrii Pilshchykov — who went by the call-sign “Juice”, was a young officer with “mega knowledge and mega talent”.
“Major Andrii Pilshchykov devoted his short but very bright life to combat aviation, he dreamed of F-16s in the Ukrainian sky,” he said in a tribute shared on social media.
“You were more than a friend. Rest in peace, you have done so much for us,” he added.
