KYIV: Ukraine said Saturday that three of its air force pilots including a renowned fighter jet pilot with the call-sign “Juice” were killed in a mid-air collision on Friday.
The crash marks a major upset for Kyiv, which has been looking to secure advanced F-16 jets to strengthen its Soviet-era air force and push ahead with its counteroffensive.
“We express our condolences to the families of the victims. This is a painful and irreparable loss for all of us,” Ukraine’s air force said, calling the crash “terrible.”
The crash took place in Ukraine’s northern Zhytomyr region and involved two L-39 combat training aircraft, it said, adding an investigation was underway.
Air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said one of the pilots killed — Andrii Pilshchykov — who went by the call-sign “Juice,” was a young officer with “mega knowledge and mega talent.”
“Major Andrii Pilshchykov devoted his short but very bright life to combat aviation, he dreamed of F-16s in the Ukrainian sky,” he said in a tribute shared on social media.
“You were more than a friend. Rest in peace, you have done so much for us,” he added.
Kyiv says three air force pilots killed in ‘terrible’ mid-air crash
https://arab.news/2cys8
Kyiv says three air force pilots killed in ‘terrible’ mid-air crash
- “We express our condolences to the families of the victims,” Ukraine’s air force said, calling the crash “terrible”
- The crash took place in Ukraine’s northern Zhytomyr region
German poll candidate under fire over schoolgirl comments
- Hagel mentioned one girl in particular who stuck in his mind
- The video has provoked a backlash, with Greens MP Zoe Mayer and other critics accusing Hagel of sexism
BERLIN: A politician from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s center-right party has come under fire during a local election campaign after a video resurfaced of him making comments about schoolgirls.
Manuel Hagel, 37, is the CDU’s top candidate for regional elections in the prosperous southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg on March 8.
In the video from 2018, Hagel can be seen talking enthusiastically about a visit to a secondary school class in his constituency where 80 percent of the pupils were girls.
“There are worse places for a 29-year-old MP to be,” he grins.
He then mentions one girl in particular who stuck in his mind, noting her “brown hair” and “hazel eyes.”
The video has provoked a backlash, with Greens MP Zoe Mayer and other critics accusing Hagel of sexism.
“What signal does this send to young women who want to get involved in politics?” Mayer said in a clip on Instagram about the video.
During a TV debate aired by the ARD broadcaster on Tuesday, Hagel said he regretted his “stupid mistake,” adding that his wife had “given him a real dressing down” over the comments.
For the past five years, the state government in Baden-Wuerttemberg has been led by the Greens in coalition with the CDU.
However, the CDU is currently leading the polls and looks set to head the next government — possibly in collaboration with the Greens again.
Markus Frohnmaier, the top candidate for the far-right AfD, seized on the video to harangue the Green party candidate about whether he would team up with Hagel during the TV debate.
“Can you still envisage cooperation with the CDU in Baden-Wuerttemberg in this context?” Frohnmaier asked the Greens’ Cem Ozdemir.
The latest polls show the CDU with around 28-percent support in Baden-Wuerttemberg, with the Greens on 22 percent and the AfD on 20 percent.
