The pilot who was killed while stopping columns of invaders from Crimea was posthumously awarded the title of Hero

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine to Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Zhybrov, who, in the early hours of the full-scale invasion, engaged and repelled Russian columns advancing from Crimea.

The corresponding decree was publishedon the president’s website. 

According to the Air Force, at the start of the full-scale invasion, Alexander Zhibrov, a squadron commander with the 299th Brigade, was among the first to take his Su-25 into the air. He destroyed part of the enemy column and halted the invaders’ advance from Crimea.

The plane was shot down. There was no chance to eject or make it to the airfield. The pilot steered the burning aircraft toward the invaders.

In this report about the pilot, his comrades share their stories. According to one of the interviewees, in the Crimean sector—from Chongar to Armiansk—they struck a large convoy of military vehicles and a pontoon bridge convoy. According to him, the latter was moving as a reserve across the Dnipro River. The mission was to stop the convoys moving from Crimea through Henichesk.

According to the interviewee, Zhibrov also flew a mission against the same convoy shortly thereafter.

“I believe he made a very bold decision to go first, because the majority of the flight crew consists of young people,” says one of the interviewees in the report.

Another military officer recalls that the pilots were aware of the risk: “They already knew that not everyone would return.” He also emphasizes the dense air defense and the convoys several kilometers long.

The posthumous conferral of the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the “Golden Star” was a recognition of Zhybrov’s courage, self-sacrifice, and contribution to training a new generation of military pilots.

According to the Air Force, future Heroes of Ukraine—Rostyslav Lazarenko, Danylo Murashko, Vadym Blahovysnyi, and Yegor Seredyuk—trained under him.

As Intent previously reported, 25-year-old military pilot Marat Mambetov was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. The major was killed on October 1 during a combat mission.

Ірина Глухова