‘Every flight might be our last': The Ukrainian pilot fighting for his homeland
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Loading... - Jerome Makris
- 05 Oct 2022
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Yuriy is flying sorties against what was initially viewed as overwhelming odds, with Russia said to have vast numerical and technological superiority.
The Su-27 pilot, who has lost friends and mentors during the conflict, spoke as Ukrainian forces made some of the war’s most significant gains.
Kyiv’s troops have made a swift advance through enemy lines around the second city of Kharkiv, where they are said to have liberated territory equivalent to twice the size of Greater London since Wednesday.
The Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) has been active during the counter-offensive, reporting that its anti-aircraft systems shot down nine of 12 cruise missiles fired at the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region on Sunday.
‘Every time we take off and go on a mission, we know it might be our last flight,’ Yuriy told Metro.co.uk. ‘But we do it again and again.
‘This is our land, the land of our ancestors. Our families and children are here, and we are ready to defend them.’
Yuriy joined Ukraine’s air arm in February 2014 at the outset of the Donbass war and Russia’s illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsular. Read More...
