Rostyslav Lazarenko, a fighter pilot of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that Pavlo Ivanov, who died on April 12, was one of the first Ukrainian F-16 pilots, combat attack pilots, who flew 130 combat missions before retraining.
This is stated in the military's Facebook post.
He noted that he was proud that he managed to pull Ivanov out of combat missions and send him for retraining on the F-16.
I remembered a conversation after his first flight in an F-16. Then he gave instructions to hold the attack plane's bar and quickly return for cover.
When asked how the new aircraft was, Ivanov replied: "The Su-25 is better."
I also remembered how young they were at the beginning of the full-scale war, and how I met him in the first days: with a slight wound on his face after shelling, tired but indomitable.
He literally rushed into battle, never refused combat missions, and was a truly strong pilot.
"Real. Without pathos, without bravado - just your own, reliable, with character. Your combat path began with our combat family, and you never let me down - neither me nor any of us. You were a true warrior, a man with a big heart. But the main thing - you were and will forever remain a part of our combat family - AFR. Now the pain of loss and bitter anger are overwhelming...", - added Rostyslav Lazarenko.
As a reminder, 26-year-old Pavlo Ivanov died in combat while piloting an F-16 aircraft. The circumstances of the tragedy are still unknown, and an interdepartmental commission is already working.
Previously, "Apostrophe" wrote about who Pavlo Ivanov is and what is known about his death on the F-16.