Viacheslav V. Yerko

Yerkho Vyacheslav Volodymyrovych was born on August 19, 1985, in Kyiv, in a family of workers. His grandfather was a pilot, a participant in the war in Afghanistan. Vyacheslav grew up in Kurenivka and Pryorka, studied at specialized school No. 2 with in-depth study of subjects of the natural sciences cycle. In 2002, he graduated from the Aviation and Space College of the National Aviation University, in 2006 - the Kharkiv National University of Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub. After graduation, he was sent to serve in the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade. In 2014, Vyacheslav flew to the East to defend Ukraine in the ATO zone. In the same year, he performed combat missions in Donetsk Airport: he circled over the airport to stop the enemy column that was trying to destroy the control tower in the airport and kill our defenders. For this heroic act, Vyacheslav Yerkho was awarded the chest badge "For the Defense of Donetsk Airport". He became the first pilot who defended the airport in the air and entered the history of the "cyborgs". After the defense of Donetsk Airport, Vyacheslav destroyed enemies in the cities of Avdiivka, Volnovakha, Lebedynske, and others. In 2020, he took part in the celebration in honor of the Air Force Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2021, he graduated from the Institute of Aviation and Air Defense of the National Defense University of Ukraine named after Ivan Chernyakhovsky. On August 24, 2021, at the solemn parade on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, Vyacheslav Yerkho led a group of MiG-29 and Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, which painted the Ukrainian flag in the sky with blue-yellow smoke. Senior pilot, commander of the aviation squadron, deputy commander of the squadron for air navigation, commander of the aviation squadron of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade. On February 24, 2022, he was one of the first to engage in an aerial battle with Russian forces. He performed four combat sorties, covered the withdrawal from the strike of the brigade's aircraft. Together with other group pilots, he shot down five enemy aircraft. Personally, he destroyed the enemy Su-25 aircraft and two Mi-24 helicopters. Unfortunately, for Vyacheslav, that battle on February 24, 2022, was his last.