Air Force commander fulfilled the promise he gave to the mother of fallen hero with call sign Juice. Video

Exactly one year ago, on August 25, 2023, a young Ukrainian pilot Andriy Pilshchykov with call sign Juice, who did an incredible job to ensure that Ukraine's Western partners decided to provide F-16 fighters to the Ukrainian army, was killed during a training flight. During the farewell to the Hero, his mother Lilia Averyanova asked the Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk to give her the opportunity to at least sit in the cockpit of the first aircraft to arrive in Ukraine.

A year after the crash, when F-16s are already protecting the Ukrainian skies, Oleshchuk fulfilled his promise. The Air Force commander showed how it happened in a video.

"Andriy Pilshchykov will forever remain in our hearts and in Ukrainian history. The young pilot managed to fight both on the ground and from the air and did incredible communication work. The whole world knows him. It was he, Andriy Pilshchikov, nicknamed Juice, who did a tremendous job of advocating for the F-16 for Ukraine," Oleshchuk said.

He recalled how the struggle to strengthen the Ukrainian army in the sky began. In the first year of Russia's full-scale aggression, our Western partners did not even want to hear about the transfer of Western F-16 fighters to Ukraine: the West was too afraid of "escalation" and the Kremlin's anger in response to such a step. Therefore, the likelihood of the transfer of fighter jets to Ukraine was almost zero.

But this did not stop a small group of enthusiasts who believed that it was necessary to continue this Sisyphean task and  that even the seemingly impossible would become a reality.

"In 2022, I did not hesitate to support an ambitious proposal to send pilots Andriy Pilshchikov, Oleksiy Mys and anti-aircraft gunner Denys Smazhnyi to Washington. Our officers met with American congressmen, senators, and Pentagon officials. They saw in the eyes of Ukrainians the essence of our resistance, pain and suffering, bitter losses, fighting spirit, patriotism and devotion. They saw the true face of a Ukrainian warrior: high intelligence, professionalism, fluency in English, desire and ability to master modern technology. And most importantly - people who are capable of winning this war. At that time, Juice gave dozens of interviews to top US media. This shook up the American society and gave an impetus to action. It was a powerful step towards the F-16, a step towards making a decision," Oleshchuk recalled.

The military-political leadership of the state, the diplomatic corps, and the Ukrainian diaspora were actively involved in convincing Western partners of the need to transfer F-16s to Ukrainian soldiers. However, it was Juice who was the main force of this process until the last days of his short life.

"It's no exaggeration to say that Andriy Pilshchikov's efforts have brought the F-16's appearance in the Ukrainian skies much closer. Unfortunately, Juice missed his deployment for training by a little bit. And today his mother, Lilia, is sitting in the cockpit of the F-16. She continues the work of her son, the Hero of Ukraine. She does everything Andriy said she would do. And in his memory, she will do everything to make our wings stronger," says Oleshchuk.

He told us that he made a promise to Lilia Averyanova on the day people said goodbye to her son.

"When the whole country was saying goodbye to Juice, his mother asked me for the opportunity to at least sit in the cockpit of the plane that her Andriy wanted to fly. I kept my word. Lilia has now seen the F-16, sat in the cockpit of the American fighter jet, and had a motherly talk with the pilots who will do operations in the sky and will definitely take revenge for Andriy and all their brothers in arms, for every Ukrainian," the Air Force commander emphasized.

He also showed the mother of the already legendary Ukrainian pilot in the cockpit of the F-16.

"I'm really happy, actually. I was coming here and thinking: well, the body may die, but the soul stays with us. And I think Andriy sees and hears all this now and is happy. And now the main thing is that there is no turning back," the woman said.

Andriy Pilshchykov was a Ukrainian military pilot, major (posthumously) of the 40th Brigade of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Participant of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Holder of the Order "For Courage" II (2023, posthumously) and III (2022) degrees.

At the time of his death, he was only 30 years old.

As a reminder, on August 25, 2023, a well-known pilot Andriy Pilshchykov, call sign Juice, was killed in a collision between two Ukrainian aircraft in the Zhytomyr region. Two other pilots died with him: Vyacheslav Minka and Serhiy Prokazin.

On August 29, Ukraine said goodbye to the legendary pilot. During the farewell ceremony.

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