3 Ukrainian pilots killed as military aircraft collide in mid-air

According to a statement released on Saturday by the country’s air force, two L-39 training aircraft collided in midair in central Ukraine, killing three Ukrainian pilots.

Losing three pilots will be a setback for Ukraine, which is preparing to make a major effort to quickly train its air crews on F-16 fighter jets given by the West; up to 61 of these aircraft have been offered to Kyiv.

West of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in the Zhytomyr district, the disaster took place on Friday. According to the air force, one of the deceased pilots, who went by the callsign “Juice,” had gained notoriety after giving countless interviews to foreign media.

“We express our condolences to the families of the victims. This is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us,” the air force wrote on the Telegram app, adding that an investigation into the circumstances of the crash was taking place.

(With agency inputs)