"SHCHERBAKOV"

He was born on February 25, 1997, in the city of Dnipro. From childhood, he dreamed of becoming a military officer. After finishing school, he entered the Military Lyceum at the University of Customs and Finance. In 2014, after the lyceum, he enrolled at Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University. He completed his studies in 2019 and, by assignment, served in the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade named after Lieutenant General Vasyl Nikiforov. He served for three years and met the start of the invasion during the Russo-Ukrainian war. On February 24, 2022, an engineer-sapper battalion of Russian forces in Kherson Oblast attempted to deliver equipment for a crossing to the Dnipro River. A pair of Ukrainian Su-25M1 attack aircraft—one piloted by Oleksandr Shcherbakov and the other by Lieutenant Colonel Rostyslav Lazarenko—set out on a mission to destroy the occupiers’ equipment. After spotting the column, the aircraft formed a circular pattern, taking turns diving on the target and using unguided rockets to destroy the vehicles. After several attacks, Shcherbakov’s aircraft was hit. With no altitude to spare, the pilot decided to direct the aircraft toward the enemy column. At the last moment, at an altitude of about 50 meters, he managed to eject, but the aircraft’s attitude at the moment of ejection left no chance for a successful landing. Together with his wingman, he managed to destroy a large amount of Russian military equipment. He was laid to rest on March 13, 2023, in the city of Dnipro. Words of a friend: “Forever in our hearts, forever elegant, forever devoted to the cause!”