Zelenskyy posthumously awards Hero of Ukraine title to pilot Oleksii Mes who died in F-16 crash
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine along with the Order of the Gold Star to Ukrainian pilot Oleksii "Moonfish" Mes, who died in an F-16 crash on 26 August 2024 while engaging in combat during a Russian missile attack.
Source: Decree No. 165/2025
Quote: "For personal courage and heroism demonstrated in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for selfless service to the Ukrainian people, I hereby decree:
To posthumously award the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Gold Star to Colonel Oleksii Serhiiovych Mes."
For reference: Oleksii Mes was one of the first Ukrainian pilots to master flying F-16 fighter jets. In autumn 2023, he trained in Denmark alongside other Ukrainian pilots.
Background:
During the night and morning of 26 August 2024, Russian forces launched a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine's civilian and energy infrastructure, using over 100 missiles and approximately 100 Shahed attack drones.
The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed in Ukraine on 26 August.
Later, Ukraine's Air Force confirmed that pilot Oleksii Mes died that day while repelling Russia's large-scale combined missile and aircraft attack.
Ukraine's General Staff also confirmed that an F-16 fighter jet had crashed while intercepting Russian missile strikes.
In September, Breaking Defense reported that the crash may have been caused by debris from a downed Russian missile.
On 14 February, The Wall Street Journal published an article suggesting that the fighter jet may have been downed by friendly fire from a Patriot air defence system, although Ukraine has not officially confirmed this.
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