Ukrainian pilot Oleksii Mes killed during Russia’s massive air strike
On August 26, pilot of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksii Mes, was killed on combat duty while repulsing Russian massive missile attack.
The Air Force Command posted this on Facebook, as seen by Ukrinform.
"He heroically fought his last battle in the skies. On August 26, during a massive Russian missile and air strike, Oleksii shot down three cruise missiles and one strike UAV. He saved countless Ukrainians from deadly Russian missiles, tragically at the cost of his own life," - the message says.
The Air Force Command also emphasized that Oleksii Mes was a strong and loyal soldier, a high-class pilot, a leader on earth and in the sky, a good friend, a loving son, a father, a husband, a patriot of his country.
On August 29, his fellow pilots, commanders and subordinates, friends and colleagues, hundreds of ordinary Ukrainians came to bid farewell to him.
A pair of MiG-29 jets paid tribute to the fallen pilot in the sky. The flight over the procession was performed by Mes’s comrades. By order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, lieutenant colonel Oleksii Mes was posthumously awarded the military rank of colonel.