Oleksandr O. Shcherbakov

Military pilot Oleksandr Shcherbakov was killed in action on February 26, 2022, while defending Kherson Oblast from Russian invaders. The day before his death, he turned 25. Oleksandr was born in Dnipro city. He dreamed of a military career since childhood. He stu at a lyceum with enhanced military-physical training and later graduated from Kharkiv National University of the Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub. After graduation, he was assigned to the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force. From the first day of the full-scale war, he defended the Ukrainian sky from enemies. On February 26, on Kherson Oblast, a Russian occupying sapper-engineer battalion attempted to deliver equipment for crossing the Dnipro River. A pair of Ukrainian Su-25M1 attack aircraft took off to destroy the enemy equipment. One of them was piloted by Oleksandr Shcherbakov. Having spotted the column, the planes began to circle, diving on the target in turn and using unguided rockets to destroy the equipment. After several attacks, Oleksandr's attack aircraft was hit. The pilot, having no altitude reserve, decided to direct the plane towards the enemy column. At the last moment, at an altitude of about 50 meters, he managed to eject, but the position of the plane at the moment of ejection did not allow for a successful landing. The officer . "He was a very good and kind-hearted person. He dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood... The kindest person I know... He will forever remain in my heart," said Valeria, a close friend of the deceased. The hero was buried in the town of Chaplynka in Kherson Oblast. Oleksandr left behind his parents and sister. Posthumously, Captain Oleksandr Shcherbakov was awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree.