3 Ukrainian pilots killed in mid-air military plane collision

West of kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in the district of Zhytomyr, the disaster took place on Friday. Image Courtesy AP

According to a statement released by the country’s air force on Saturday, two L-39 trainer jets collided mid-air in central Ukraine, killing three Ukrainian pilots.

The loss of three pilots will be a setback for Ukraine, which is preparing to make a major effort to quickly train its crews on F-16 fighter jets supplied by the West; up to 61 such aircraft were offered to Kyiv.

West of kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, in the district of Zhytomyr, the disaster took place on Friday. According to the Air Force, one of the deceased pilots, who went by the name “Juice”, had gained notoriety after giving countless interviews to foreign media.

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“We express our condolences to the families of the victims. It is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us,” the Air Force wrote on the Telegram app, adding that an investigation was underway into the circumstances of the accident.

(With agency contributions)