A bloody face is a heavy price for our victory: we awarded the legendary pilot who took the flaming plane away from the village in the Vinnitsa region and destroyed 5 “Shaheds”

“On the video from the flights, everything is very good, the planes are flying, the missiles are firing back, but there is no understanding of what is really happening”

Despite his young age, he is called a real ace of Ukrainian aviation and a hunter for Russian military equipment. It was he who on October 12 destroyed five “Shaheds”, and the day before two cruise missiles in the sky, and all this practically happened in front of people. During the last downing, the plane of Vadim Voroshilov with the call sign KARAYA was hit by the wreckage of one of the Shahed-136s. There was a fire on board…

However, the pilot of one of the tactical aviation brigades did not lose his head, but took the burning equipment away from the settlement, 25 kilometers from Vinnitsa, only after that he ejected.

For the courage of the officer, the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant-General Mykola Oleshchuk, initiated a petition for conferring the high title of Hero of Ukraine on the pilot. And on December 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine to military pilot Vadym Voroshilov with the call sign “Karaya”.

And on the day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major Vadim Voroshilov was awarded the “For Services to Vinnitsa” award and a cash prize of 30,000 hryvnias. It was on December 6 that the warrior first published photos on his Instagram after the accident of the MiG-29 fighter.

“Everything is very good on the video from the flights, the planes are flying, the missiles are firing back, but unfortunately there is no understanding of what is happening behind the scenes, so I decided to post the photo without editing”, the defender wrote on his Instagram page.

He has already returned to the service, but he is not flying yet, he is undergoing a medical commission. However, he is ready to rise into the sky again and destroy the infidels. Since the Hero of Ukraine, holder of the Order “For Courage” does not yet give interviews, we found those who helped him in setting him on the path of a military pilot.

- Vadim Voroshilov graduated from the Kremenchug military lyceum with enhanced military training in 2011, this is my pet, so we still actively keep in touch, - told Vladimir Polyakov, Head of the NGO “Coordinating Center for Associations of ATO Veterans”, Head of the Museum of Military History of Kremenchug. - I always told him that he made my dream come true, because he also dreamed of becoming a military pilot since childhood, but it did not work out. I remember Vadim for his pure Ukrainian language, calm disposition, always with a straight back. And when such simple guys sit at the helm of a multi-ton aircraft - I’m really proud!

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After graduating from the flight department of the Kharkiv National Air Force University named after. I. Kozhedub, the officer went to serve in one of the air bases as a fighter pilot. From his squadron there were only 5 people who received permission to fly at night, and among them is our Vadim. Our graduate has repeatedly performed combat missions at the forefront. I know that there was a certain period when Vadim left aviation, but with the start of a full-scale invasion, he resumed and began to carry out combat missions. What exactly he could not tell us, but we constantly kept in touch.

“In a matter of seconds, Vadim decided that it was necessary to urgently withdraw the military aircraft, because the village of Turbov was below”

- Did Vadim tell you what happened on October 12 in the sky over the Vinnitsa region?

- That day, he shot down three drones at once, and soon two more. When I destroyed the last one, it was already dark, the fighter plane was damaged by the debris of Shahed. Cabin and control system suffered. Accordingly, the MiG-29 began to lose altitude, disintegrate in the air. In a matter of seconds, Vadim decided that it was necessary to urgently withdraw the military aircraft, because below it was the village of Turbov, where civilians live. And only after this was done, the officer ejected.

Isn’t this the act of a real Hero, ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of others? And compare this situation even with what happened in Yeysk. Here they are - Ukrainian pilots!

After the plane crashed, our graduate’s face was cut with glass. On foot, he reached the village, covered in blood. He worried that the civilians would not be afraid. Having reached one of the houses, Vadim immediately declared that he was a Ukrainian fighter and had an accident. People gave him a drink, fed him, called an ambulance. The fighter reported the situation to his command. After that, the pilot was hospitalized.

Even after these events, we called Vadim by phone and it seemed that after what he had experienced, he could afford some kind of statement that was not very cultured. But no, the pilot is calm. According to him, this case did not change its meaning and significance. After those events, Vadim even went to the village and apologized to the locals for the inconvenience, and the grateful residents of Vinnitsa told him that they were ready to raise funds for the plane, because that evening he saved thousands …

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- Many wonder why the fighter pilot chose the call sign KARAYA. Do you know anything about it?

- This is the call sign of a successful fighter pilot of World War II and, in general, in the entire history of aviation - Erich Hartmann. The word itself has no direct interpretation. If the literal translation is from German, then this is a favorite, but it was not used for this meaning. Hartmann had this call sign when he was the commander of the Karaya -1 aviation squadron, the rest of the flight personnel of the fighters were Karaya -2, 3, 4 … depending on the order of battle in the ranks and so on. After the end of World War II, he spent 10 years in exile in the Soviet Union, somewhere in Transbaikalia in quarries. For the Soviet Union did not understand at all the meaning of what kind of person they had, in terms of skills, experience …

After 10 years of exile, he returned to Germany, commanded an air group. Then he ended up in the USA, where he became, one might say, the “father” of modern jet fighter aviation, because all the tactics of warfare that formed the basis, and are even now used, were written by him. Such a fairly prominent figure in world history and directly in jet fighter aircraft.

According to history, Vadim liked to read about him. And he said in all interviews that “I was young and apolitical, I liked to fly, and this was my calling.” And Vadim so, as a joke, took this call sign. So it remains. Hartmann’s tactics are formulated in 4 words: “I saw - I decided - I attacked - I broke away.” And he never changed that sequence. This is the military creed and Vadim.

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- As far as I know, recently Vadim, a graduate of the Kremenchug Military Lyceum, visited his native alma mater.

- So, the next meeting took place at the Museum of Military History, the fighter pilot was at home on a short vacation. He came not only himself, but also with gifts for the museum. In my opinion, these are not just presents, this is life. The lives of those who protect us. The lives of those who are protected. Vadim handed over to us a parachute system that saved his life during an emergency sortie on a combat mission.

He said: “This parachute is installed in the K36-DN ejection seat on all types of tactical aviation aircraft of Ukraine. Such as - MiG-29, Su-27, Su-22. During ejection, the seat is fired from the aircraft and the parachute system is activated, which is fully automatic from the moment of ejection to the moment of landing. This is done in case the pilot lost consciousness. During the performance of a combat mission, the nose of the aircraft was damaged, and along with it the headrest, where the parachute was located. But, even damaged, he fully fulfilled his purpose and saved my life. These are the children we taught and raised in the military lyceum. After the victory, Vadim promised to fulfill my childhood dream to take to the skies together.

Recall that the United States told how Ukraine can win the war - it all depends on the sky.