Pilots who died in the Zhytomyr region were posthumously promoted
29 August, 2023 Viacheslav Minka, Serhiy Prokazin and Andrii Pilshchikov, pilots of the Air Forces of Ukraine The Ukrainian pilots who died on August 25 in a collision between two L-39 combat trainer aircraft were posthumously promoted. The Air Force of Ukraine reported this on Tuesday, August 28.
In addition, military pilots have been nominated for state awards. Thus, in accordance with the order No.
661 of Mykola Oleshchuk, the Commander of the Air Force of Ukraine, of August 28, 2023, Majors Viacheslav Minka and Serhiy Prokazin were posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Captain Andrii Pilshchikov, who went by the call sign "JUICE", was posthumously promoted to the rank of Major.
The wreckage of the L-39 plane in Zhytomyr Region, August 2023.
Photo credits: Office of the Prosecutor General
As previously reported, on August 25, 2023, the crews of two L-39 combat trainer aircraft collided in mid-air while performing a combat mission. The circumstances of the crash are being investigated.
Major Viacheslav MINKA
According to the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of Ukraine, Major Viacheslav Minka, a resident of the Kyiv region, is among the dead. He returned to aviation in 2015 when Russia attacked Ukraine.
By the time of the start of the full-scale invasion, he had over 200 hours of flight time. He was an experienced pilot of the brigade, technically well-trained. He was familiar with various types of aircraft and devoted a significant part of his service to instructing.
Major Serhii Prokazin was a resident of the Poltava region. He spent 24 years of his life in aviation, working his way up from pilot to deputy brigade commander.
Major Serhii PROKAZIN
Since 2022, he has flown over 100 hours of combat missions. His comrades-in-arms recall his extraordinary smile, sincerity, and ability to help in difficult situations.
Captain Andrii PILSHCHYKOV, a native of Kharkiv, call sign "JUICE," devoted 8 years of his life to aviation.
Since the start of the full-scale war, he has logged over 500 hours of flight time, including combat missions in difficult conditions.
Andrii "JUICE" Pilshchikov
He received a number of state and departmental awards.
He was courageous, principled, uncompromising, always defended his own opinion to the end, and actively advocated in the Western media, in particular on the issue of providing Ukraine with modern F-16 fighter jets.