Oleksandr Oksanchenko
Native name
Олександр Оксанченко
Birth nameOleksandr Yakovych Oksanchenko
Nickname(s)Grey Wolf
Born(1968-04-26)26 April 1968
Malomykhailivka, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Died25 February 2022(2022-02-25) (aged 53)
Kyiv, Ukraine
Allegiance Soviet Union (1989–1991)
 Ukraine (1991–2018, 2022)
Service/branch Soviet Air Forces
 Ukrainian Air Force
Years of service1989–2018
2022
RankColonel (Polkovnyk)
Unit831st Tactical Aviation Brigade
Battles/wars
AwardsOrder of Danylo Halytsky
Hero of Ukraine Order of the Gold Star (posthumously)
Alma materKharkiv Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots
Children2

Oleksandr Yakovych Oksanchenko (Ukrainian: Олександр Якович Оксанченко; 26 April 1968 – 25 February 2022), nicknamed the Grey Wolf, was a Ukrainian fighter pilot and Myrhorod city councilor. He was a colonel in the Ukrainian Air Force who won awards in several air shows before retiring in 2018. In 2022, he returned to serve in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and was killed by a Russian S-400 missile during the Battle of Kyiv. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Gold Star.

Early life

Oksanchenko was born 26 April 1968 in the village of Malomykhailivka [uk], Pokrovske Raion in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and attended his local secondary school until 1985 before commencing military aviation training.[1] He graduated from Kharkiv Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.[2]

Career

Oksanchenko joined the Soviet Air Force in 1989.[3] He worked as an instructor pilot, later rising to the position of deputy commander of his flight training military unit in the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade stationed at the Myrhorod Air Base.[2] During the 2014 Crimean crisis, he was stationed at Belbek Air Base and was in combat in Crimea and the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone.[2]

From 2013 to 2018, Oksanchenko was a display pilot of the Sukhoi Su-27 for the Ukrainian Air Force.[4] He had over 2,000 flying hours.[2] In 2016, he flew in the Malta International Airshow.[5] He was the winner of the 2016 Slovak International Air Fest [uk] and was presented with a trophy from the Slovak Air Force commander.[6] In 2016, Oksanchenko was honored as the Myrhorod person of the year.[3] In 2017, he won the As the Crow Flies Award for the best display at the Royal International Air Tattoo.[5] In 2018, he won best pilot at the Czech International Air Fest [cs].[7][5] Oksanchenko was a colonel when he retired in 2018.[2][4]

He was a member of the Strength and Honor (Ukrainian: Сила і Честь) party in Poltava Oblast.[8] Starting in November 2020, he served as one of the deputies in the Myrhorod city council.[2][3][8]

Oksanchenko came out of retirement to resume active duty during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On the night of 25 February, he was killed by a missile while defending the skies over Kyiv.[9]

Personal life

Oksanchenko had two daughters.[8]

Legacy

831 st tactical aviation brigade Twitter
@831TABr

ПІД МУЗИКУ ПАЛАЮЧОГО ФОРПЕПІАНО…🎹 Українські пілоти вшанували пам’ять своїх бойових побратимів.
Назавжди в строю! 🫡✈️🇺🇦 @PvK_Center_UA @KpsZSU pic.twitter.com/jxK9KBt4Bx

UNDER THE MUSIC OF BURNING FORTEPIANO...🎹 Ukrainian pilots honored the memory of their fighting brothers. Forever in order! 🫡✈️🇺🇦 @PvK_Center_UA @KpsZSU pic.twitter.com/jxK9KBt4Bx

29 August 2023[10]

On 29 August 2023, the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shared a video of piano burning ceremony has been held as a tribute to fallen Ukrainian fighter pilot Denys Kyryliuk [uk] and commemorated to Stepan Chobanu [uk] and Oleksandr Oksanchenko. On video of the ceremony shared by 831st TBA shown a piano with painted pilots' nicknames and planes' tail numbers as next: "11 Chobanu" (for Su-27S "11 BLUE"), "30 Kyryliuk" (for Su-27S "30 BLUE"[11]) and "100 Oksanchenko" (for Su-27P "100 BLUE"[12]).[13]

Awards

Oksanchenko was a recipient of the Order of Danylo Halytsky.[3] He was posthumously awarded the Order of Gold Star by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.[4][14][15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Profile: Oksanchenko Alexander Yakovlevich" (PDF) (in Ukrainian). Myrhorod City Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022. Я, Оксанченко Олександр Якович, народився 26 квітня 1968р. в с. Маломихайлівка Покровського району Дніпропетровської області. ... З 1975р по 1985р. - навчався в Маломихайлівській середній школі. 1985-1989р.р. - навчався в Харківському Вищому військовому авіаційному училищі льотчиків. [I, Oksanchenko Alexander Yakovlevich, was born on 26 April 1968. in the village Malomykhailivka, Pokrovsky district, Dnipropetrovsk region. ... From 1975 to 1985. - studied at Malomykhailivska secondary school. 1985-1989 - studied at the Kharkiv Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots.]
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Стал Героем посмертно. Погиб один из лучших летчиков-истребителей в мире Александр Оксанченко". ФОКУС (in Russian). 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Pruglo, Jan (1 March 2022). "У бою загинув миргородський ас Олександр Оксанченко — Герой України посмертно". Інтернет-Видання «Полтавщина» (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "Legendary Ukrainian display pilot known as Grey Wolf dies in combat". The Week. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b c Attard, Giuseppe (1 March 2022). "Ukrainian fighter pilot who took part in 2016 Malta Airshow killed while defending Kyiv". The Malta Independent. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. ^ Kuznetsov, Sergey (30 August 2016). "Український льотчик переміг на міжнародному авіашоу SIAF-2016 у Словаччині". Зеркало недели | Дзеркало тижня | Mirror Weekly. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  7. ^ "Оксанченко став найкращим асом на чеському авіашоу" [Oksanchenko became the best ace on the Czech air show]. Poltava Battalion (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 28 February 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Міська рада :: Офіційний сайт міста Миргород. Офіційний сайт Миргородської міської ради" [City Council :: Official site of Myrhorod city. Official site of Myrhorod City Council]. myrgorod.pl.ua (in Ukrainian). Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Oleksandr Oksanchenko Death, Ukrainian best fighter pilot dies in the battle". DeathObits.com. 1 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  10. ^ 831 st tactical aviation brigade [@831TABr] (29 August 2023). "ПІД МУЗИКУ ПАЛАЮЧОГО ФОРПЕПІАНО…🎹 Українські пілоти вшанували пам'ять своїх бойових побратимів.
    Назавжди в строю! 🫡✈️🇺🇦 @PvK_Center_UA @KpsZSU [https://pic.twitter.com/jxK9KBt4Bx pic.twitter.com/jxK9KBt4Bx]"     (Tweet) – via Twitter.    ((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ "Sukhoi Su-27, 30 BLUE (cn 36911013918)". spotters.net.ua. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  12. ^ "Sukhoi Su-2, 100 BLUE (cn 36911035716)". spotters.net.ua. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  13. ^ "ПІД МУЗИКУ ПАЛАЮЧОГО ФОРПЕПІАНО…🎹 Українські пілоти вшанували пам'ять своїх бойових побратимів. Назавжди в строю! 🫡✈️🇺🇦" [UNDER THE MUSIC OF BURNING FORTEPIANO...🎹 Ukrainian pilots honored the memory of their fighting brothers. Forever in order! 🫡✈️🇺🇦]. 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade (video). Retrieved 28 August 2023 – via Facebook.
  14. ^ ""Збив Іл-76 росіян". 12 нових Героїв України: що про них відомо". LIGA (in Ukrainian). 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Zelensky awards title of Hero of Ukraine to 12 servicemen, six of them posthumously – decree". Interfax-Ukraine. 1 March 2022. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2022.

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