And a famous Ukrainian pilot posted a selfie of himself with a bloodied face on social media, shooting down two Russian missiles and five Iranian-made kamikaze drones.
Ensign Vadim Vorosilov, a distinguished photographer and videographer, was famously a pilot of Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jets last October when he suffered a head injury bleeding in his face from the wound, after a fierce battle with Iranian-made drones. He used his fighter’s ejection seat, as reported by Forbes.
The intensity of the night fighting didn’t stop the Ukrainian pilot from putting his thumbs up and taking a quick selfie.
Almost a month later, on December 5, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky decorated him with the Gold Star, the country’s highest military decoration, and awarded him the title “Hero of Ukraine”.
The leading symbol of the Ukrainian resistance: he was shot down and murdered a tragic death over Kyiv [εικόνες]
What the Times wrote about the “Ghost of Kyiv” pilot and what is the truth
Although Voroshilov is one of Ukraine’s most decorated pilots, in July 2021 he refused to extend his five-year contract with the country’s air force, accusing it of catching pilots when they crash, but for long flying hours and low wages.
He told the Kyiv Post that they always blame the pilots, regardless of whether the crash was caused by human error or a technical problem.
That was before Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which rekindled the pilot’s patriotic feelings.
Vorosilov gained notoriety as a “drone killer” after shooting down five Iranian-made Shahed drones in one week, the type used by Russian forces to attack his country’s energy infrastructure.
It was one of them, and the last plane still flying over Vinnytsia in central-western Ukraine, that shot down Voroshilov’s plane after a dogfight. Shrapnel struck the pilot in the cheek as the MiG-29 spiraled toward the ground, with Vorosilov grasping and retracting the ejection seat lever.
He says that as he was parachuting down, he managed to hold his cellphone steady and take the selfie, which he posted on Instagram. “I’ll keep it short,” she captioned it. “Nobody and nothing can stop us!”
After the Ukrainian pilot made a full recovery, he returned to the airwaves, according to Forbes, to continue fighting to defend his homeland.
More videos
“Hipster-friendly coffee fanatic. Subtly charming bacon advocate. Friend of animals everywhere.”
More Stories
Putin launches an anti-corruption operation
Cardiologist's #1 daily habit for better heart health
Britain cuts thousands of government employees to boost defense spending to 2.5% of GDP