Andrii O. Liutashyn (Liutik)

Andrii Lutashyn, born on November 15, 1974, in Mukachevo, Transcarpathia, completed his schooling in 1991 and enrolled in the Chernihiv Aviation School for Pilots. He graduated in 1995, the same year the school closed. He then served in Uman, Cherkasy region, and later worked as a flight instructor in Boryspil, Kyiv region, for ten years, training cadets. Andrii decided to return to civilian life but, when the war in eastern Ukraine began in 2014, he joined the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade. He served as Head of the Air-Fire and Tactical Training Service of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade. On February 24, 2022, risking his own life, he managed to fly a MiG-29 aircraft out of an airstrike. He participated in a group battle, preventing air strikes and destroying an enemy Su-30 aircraft. In March 2022, Andrii Lutashyn provided air support to Ukrainian Ground Forces units in battles near Kyiv. Manoeuvring in the enemy's air defense zone, Major Lutashyn destroyed three enemy BMPs with a missile strike. After this, his plane was shot down by enemy missiles on March 8, 2022, and he did not have time to eject, resulting in his death. The hero was buried in Mukachevo, Transcarpathia, on April 7, 2022.