F-16 pilot Maksym Ustimenko died while repelling a Russian attack: what is known about him

Ukrainian F-16 pilot Maksym Ustimenko, who died while repelling an air attack by Russian forces on June 29, was a classmate of another Ukrainian pilot, Andriy (Dzhus) Pilshchikov, who died two years ago.

This was told by Dzhus’s mother Liliya Averyanova.

She described Ustymenko as a “boy of steel” who “always strived to be the best.” He had studied with her son since the first year.

“He was the super-intelligence of the group, a wonderful IT guy. But he had big, strong wings. Great responsibility. Great dedication. He should have become an Air Marshal,” Averyanova wrote.

The wife of another Ukrainian pilot, Oleksiy Mesya (Munfish), reported that Ustymenko is survived by a 4-year-old son.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the death of the pilot:

“Today he destroyed seven air targets. My condolences to his family and comrades. I have instructed to investigate all the circumstances of the death. Ukrainian aviation heroically defends the sky. Thank you to everyone who defends Ukraine.”

The Head of State also emphasized that Ukrainian aviators continue to courageously perform combat missions, despite high risks and losses.

Recall that at night, while repelling a large-scale air attack from Russia, pilot 1st class Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Ustimenko, who was piloting an F-16 aircraft, was killed.

As reported, on the night of June 28-29 , Russia carried out a massive air strike on Ukraine, using 537 different means of attack . Ukraine’s air defenses managed to neutralize 475 of them.

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