Four Mi-8 pilots were laid to rest in the Lviv region
On July 7, in Brody, Lviv Oblast, a farewell ceremony was held for four soldiers who were killed while carrying out a combat mission. The crew of the Mi-8 helicopter was intercepting Russian drones and defended Ukrainian airspace until the very end.
A funeral service was held in the town of Brody, Lviv Oblast, for the four crew members of a Mi-8 military helicopter that crashed while on a combat mission to intercept Russian drones. The crew was laid to rest: crew commander Yuriy Voron, pilot-navigator Valentin Mukshinov, flight engineer Bohdan Khmil, and air gunner Mykhailo Deryaga. All of them served in the 16th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Brody.”
The farewell began with the arrival of the funeral procession. Afterward, the procession carrying the body of crew commander Yuriy Voron proceeded to the Alley of Heroes in Brody. The funeral service was held at the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Life-Giving Cross. After the ceremony, the bodies of the three other soldiers were transported to their home communities. Valentin Mukshinov was born in Kyiv, Bohdan Khmil in Vasylkiv, Kyiv Oblast, and Mykhailo Deryaga in the village of Andriivka in Poltava Oblast. It is there that their families, friends, and comrades will bid them farewell.
Mykhailo Shur, the deputy commander for psychological support of personnel at the 16th “Brody” Army Aviation Brigade, said that the fallen crew was one of the best in the unit. Most of the pilots had combat experience dating back to 2014. “Everyone was determined to win, filled with a spirit of patriotism and a desire to work and fly, despite the risks. They tried until the very end to protect not only the military but also the civilian population. That’s dozens, perhaps hundreds, of lives saved among our fellow countrymen,” he said.
According to the officer, each crew member had extensive flight experience, and they had shot down more than 300 enemy drones. “Among the crew members were people with hundreds and thousands of flight hours. This is a tremendous loss for the brigade,” emphasized Mykhailo Shur.
He made a special mention of the crew commander, Yuriy Voron. According to him, the officer was constantly training, honing his skills, and quickly mastering new tasks to defend Ukrainian airspace from air attacks. “When the need arose to work in the air defense system and protect civilian and critical infrastructure, he began preparing for it. This required very serious training, but he became a true master of his craft,” said the deputy commander.
The Brody City Council reported that Yuriy Voron was 30 years old. He was born into a family of military personnel and had dreamed of becoming a pilot since childhood. His family recalls that as early as age six, the boy wrote a letter to St. Nicholas asking for a real helicopter. After graduating from Brody High School, Yuriy enrolled at the Kharkiv National University of the Air Force. After graduation, he served in the 16th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Brody,” where he carried out combat missions from the start of the Russian aggression.
For his service, he was awarded the “Cossack Cross” (3rd Class), the “ATO Participant” badge, the Order of Danylo Halytskyi, the Presidential Distinction “For the Defense of Ukraine,” the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd and 2nd Class, as well as the “10 Years of Conscientious Service” medal. Yuriy Voron is survived by his wife, who is also serving in the military, their three-year-old son, and his parents, who are military personnel.
The death of the Mi-8 crew was yet another heavy loss for the Ukrainian Army Aviation. His comrades say that these soldiers carried out their duties to the very end, defending Ukrainian cities from Russian airstrikes. This was reported by “Suspilne.”
As a reminder, Russian troops carried out 56 strikes on 22 settlements in the Sumy region during the 24-hour period from July 6 to July 7. Two civilians were killed as a result of the enemy attacks, and another person, who had been wounded during a previous shelling, died in the hospital.
Also, over the past 24 hours, on July 6, Russian troops carried out 1,163 strikes on 45 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region. As a result of the massive attacks, three people were killed, and another 28 were wounded.
