Decorated Ukrainian pilot killed in action

Ukraine’s 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade said on May 18 that an experienced Ukrainian Air Force pilot, Denys Vasyliuk, had been killed in action.

Lieutenant Colonel Vasyliuk, the brigade’s chief of staff and a deputy commander of an aviation squadron, was killed “recently” while conducting a combat mission, the brigade said.

No further details about Vasyliuk's death were provided.

Ukraine's Air Force hasn't commented on Vasyliuk's death.

Since the beginning of Russia’s all-out war, Vasyliuk has conducted “dozens of combat missions,” the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade said in a Facebook post.

He was a full holder of the Order of Courage, a Ukrainian order awarded for individual courage and heroism.

“Pilots do not die. They remain forever in the sky!” the brigade said.

Read also: Ukrainian fighter jet pilot reportedly killed in action in Donetsk Oblast

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