Three Ukrainian pilots, including a 'mega talent' were killed on Friday when when two L-39 combat training aircraft collided over a region west of Kyiv. The three men included Andriy Pilshchykov, nicknamed 'Juice', "a Ukrainian officer, who was set to be among one of the first classes of pilots to start F-16 training.
"You can't even imagine how much he (Pilshchykov) wanted to fly an F-16," Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat wrote on his Facebook page. The Air Force expressed condolences to the families of the pilots.
Pilshchykov was a MiG-29 pilot and part of a unit that defended central and northern Ukraine at the beginning of the war. “Yesterday, a catastrophe in the sky over the Zhytomyr region killed three pilots, including Andriy Pilschikov, callsign ‘Juice,’” Zelenskyy wrote on the social media platform, X. “My heart goes out to the pilots’ friends and loved ones. The investigation is ongoing, and the truth will be revealed.” The crash is being investigated by the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine (SBI).
According to a US official, Pilshchykov was not piloting the planes but was there as an observer. When he spoke with CNN in June, he said why it was important to modernise Ukraine's air forces with the help of American fighter jets. “Our counteroffensive could be much more effective and much safer for our guys on the ground,” he said.