On Monday, August 26, Oleksii Mes, an Air Force pilot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, died defending Ukraine.
“He heroically fought his last battle in the sky. On August 26, Oleksii destroyed three cruise missiles and one UAV while repelling a massive Russian combined air and missile attack,” stated a message by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On August 29, his fellow pilots, commanders and subordinates, friends and colleagues, and hundreds of ordinary Ukrainians came to say goodbye to him.
“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, father, husband, and patriot of his country,” wrote the press service of Ukraine’s Air Force.
A pair of MiG-29 fighters paid tribute to the fallen pilot from the sky. The flight over the procession was performed by Oleksii’s comrades-in-arms. 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.
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