Andrii Borysovych Pilshchykov (; 3 February 1993 — 25 August 2023) was a Ukrainian fighter pilot with the call sign "Juice" and a Captain in the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Force. He flew Mikoyan MiG-29s during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Pilshchykov was awarded the Order for Courage and posthumously promoted to the rank of Major.

Life and career

Early life 
Born in Kharkiv, Pilshchykov spent his school years at the . As a teenager, Pilshchykov was interested in aviation and often visited local airfields.

On 24 May 2008, Pilshchykov uploaded his first aircraft spotting photo to Ukrainian Spotter's Site with a comment: “Sorry for quality - there was nothing but a mobile phone at hand:(”. Until 26 September 2020, he contributed 705 photos from all around Ukraine and other countries he visited and accelerated aircraft spotting movement in Kharkivshyna. Since 2011, Andrii has been listed on Ukrainian Spotter's Site as a content editor and one of the forum admins.

Pilshchykov took to the sky for the first time on Lilienthal X-32-912 Bekas ultralight aircraft with a pilot of Ukrainian community organization the "Civil Air Patrol" (Kharkiv).

Pilot training 

In 2011, Pilshchykov enrolled in Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University and graduated from it in 2018. While being a cadet, Pilshchykov taught classes and organized field trips for "Civil Air Patrol".

On 16-29 July 2011, Pilshchykov took part in a multinational exercise the "Safe Skies 2011", where he for the first time saw an F-16s and took photos of few F-16Cs (tail numbers "87-0271", "87-0332", "86-0326") and F-16D (tail number "87-0388"). In 2014, Pilshchykov visited Norway as a cadet. There he sat in the cockpit of an F-16 fighter for the first time.

On 19 April 2016, Pilshchykov made his first solo flight in a MiG-29 fighter jet after a 5-year training program.

On 8-19 October 2018, Pilshchykov took part in the international exercise  and was allowed to sit inside the cabin of the USAF's F-15C (tail number "86-0144").

Military service 

In winter 2018, Pilshchykov graduated and enlisted to the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade.

In September 2019, Pilshchykov traveled to California, where completed an internship at the 144th Fighter Wing of the California Air National Guard, where he flew an F-15. At that time, his American friends gave him the call sign "Juice" because he would not drink alcoholic beverages during joint training exercises, but preferred to drink juices instead.

For some time, Pilshchykov was the only pilot of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with an official call sign.

In 2021, Pilshchykov dismissed from the Air Force. In a resignation letter he added a long detailed list of Air Force's organizational issues as the reasons for his decision.

Reenlisting and flying again 

In February 2022, from the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion, Pilshchykov decided to not await for mobilization and returned to the service in the Air Force. Initially he took part in securing airfields, and later has been back to the flights for defend Ukraine's skies. He participated in the air defense of Kyiv and other territories. Beginning in March 2022, “Juice” gave several live interviews to CNN, in between sorties, without disclosing his real name, and while wearing either a helmet or a bandana over his mouth. 

As of 7 May 2022, Pilshchykov had 500 hours of combat flight time. Till the death, Andrii acted more than 100 combat flights and destroyed dozens of enemy's command posts.

On 2 June 2023, together with pilot  (call sign "Nomad"), two MiG-29s made a successful combat mission in the east, launching HARM missiles.

Death  
Andrii Pilshchykov died on the evening of 25 August 2023, along with two other pilots, Major Viacheslav Minka and Major Serhii Prokazin, when their two L-39M1 training planes  near , Zhytomyr Oblast. His death was reported by CNN, and widely covered in Ukrainian media, which published full archive photographs where his face can be seen. On 26 August 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine mentioned Pilshchykov's death in an address.

Advocacy efforts 
During his service in the Air Force, Pilshchykov advocated the need for promoting the Air Force's work in the media with high-quality photos and videos. According to Yurii Ihnat, the spokesman for the Air Force, Pilshchikov actively took part in modernizing the Air Force's public affairs work and was involved in official communication with foreign media thanks to his good English and deep knowledge of aviation.

Pilshchykov was mentioned as an authoritative reference on challenges faced by the Ukrainian Air Force and the need to supply F-16 fighters to Ukraine. In interviews with The Washington Post, the Financial Times, CNN, Fox News, and the BBC News, he called on Western partners to provide Ukraine with modern fighter jets.

In June 2022, Pilshchykov visited the US with another Ukrainian pilot, call sign Moonfish, to lobby for F-16s for Ukraine. Sean Penn joined Pilshchykov and Moonfish to help their advocacy efforts. The pilots met with US lawmakers to discuss modern weapons systems needed in Ukraine. Juice and Moonfish met with Adam Kinzinger in his office in Washington, D.C. As a result of that meeting, Adam Kinzinger introduced the "Ukraine Fighter Pilots Act" to the United States House of Representatives on 17 June 2022. The bill was cosponsored by Chrissy Houlahan, Ted Lieu, Susan Wild, Tom Malinowski, Abigail Spanberger and Mike Levin.

Ghost of Kyiv 

On 25 February 2022, former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko tweeted an image claiming it as a photo of Ghost of Kyiv. The photo was later found to be a down-scaled version of an image from a set of 3 photos posted on Twitter and in a news article on site by the Ministry of Defence on 25 April 2019 showing a pilot wearing flight helmet with a tinted visor. In a post on Facebook from the Air Force Command, dated 25 April 2019, there was 4 photos instead of 3, where one extra photo made it visible forehead and eyes of pilot's face, but this image is yet obscure.

On 2 March 2022, Military.com stated that the "Ghost of Kyiv" was "almost certainly a myth, albeit an incredibly useful one as Ukraine tries to rally its citizens to resist Russian conquest".

On 29 April 2022, after Ukrainian fighter pilot Stepan Tarabalka died in action, The Times falsely claimed that Tarabalka was a personality behind "Ghost of Kyiv".

On 30 April 2022, Ukraine's Air Force Command admitted the mythical status of the "Ghost of Kyiv," writing that the "Ghost of Kyiv is a superhero-legend, whose character was created by Ukrainians," and that the "#GhostOfKyiv is alive, it embodies the collective spirit of the highly qualified pilots".

On 27 August 2022, on the  (Ukraine state holiday) Charity Foundation "For My Ukraine" and Ukrainian artist Andrii Kovtun presented mural the "Ghost of Kyiv", which is based on viral photo "Ghost of Kyiv". On 19 May 2023, Pilshchykov tweeted a selfie of himself standing in a front of this mural adding "Waiting for The Ghost Vipers🇺🇦👍".

After Pilshchykov died, "Stalker", Andrii's mentor from the "Civil Air Patrol", revealed the origin of the "Ghost of Kyiv" myth:

Its also revealed that it was Pilshchykov on the photo initially posted by Poroshenko as a photo of "Ghost of Kyiv":

Legacy 
On 26 August 2023, the Ukrainian Air Force held a piano burning ceremony for Pilshchykov, Minka and Prokazin. Pilots' nicknames and both L-39M1s tail numbers, "102" (for "102 BLUE") and "107" (for "107 BLUE"), has been painted on a piano.On 27 August 2023, the mother and the girlfriend of Pilshchykov announced that the All-Ukrainian Charitable Foundation "Neopalyma Kupyna", which supporting Ukrainian pilots, and which work Andrii has been actively involved to, would be renamed in his honor. On the same day Ukrainian military journalist and video producer Vasyl Khmelevskyi, a retired deputy head of the Central Television and Radio Studio of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, who documented Ukrainian Air Force's history for years, shared a 4-minute-long video clip combined from L-39C's cockpit videos captured during training flights, noting that “this video has been recorded and edited by Andrii in 2015”. Cockpit view photo of L-39C, Andrii flew during this training flights, dated August 2015, has been uploaded to the Ukrainian Spotter's Site on 12 August 2015. Air-to-air photo of L-39C (tail number "103 BLUE"), appeared in the video, and dated August 2015, has been uploaded on 7 August 2016 as a greeting card for the . Air-to-air photo of L-39C (tail number "08 WHITE"), appeared in the video, also dated August 2015, has been uploaded on 3 July 2019 with a next comment: “It's a pity for the bird, but it's good that the cadet is safe and didn't touch anything on the ground.”, referencing this plane crash incident that happen during training flight on 2 July 2019 near .

On 29 August 2023, on the , the public memorial service for Andrii Pilshchykov has been held in the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ in Kyiv. Then Andrii was buried at the Askold's Grave, where also was buried Hero of Ukraine Dmytro Kotsiubailo just few months earlier. During the burial ceremony Liliya Averyanova, the mother of Pilshchykov, asked Mykola Oleshchuk, the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, to promise she that she would "take a circle" in the sky, instead of her son, onboard of the first F-16 that would be delivered to Ukraine, and Oleshchuk gives she a confirmation answer: “Definitely.”. Maria Avdeeva, a Research Director at the European Expert Association in Ukraine, tweeted a video fragment of this conversation.Team of the , a Ukrainian military news site Pilshchykov contributed to for years, who was Andrii's friends and has close ties with him, created a 39-minute-long film the «Callsign Juice Andrii Pilshchykov. Militarnyi. Memoirs». On site also published an obituary with a detailed Andrii's life story, that in part is a transcript of this film, but also includes stories not described in the film.

On 30 August 2023, Sergey Smolentsev, a Ukrainian professional photographer and reporter for Reuters and many other foreign and Ukrainian news media, shared a photo of single-seater MiG-29 (tail number "73 BLUE") with Andrii Pilshchykov saluting from the inside of cockpit, looking at Sergey's camera, just before take the plane off from Ivano-Frankivsk International Airport on 27 October 2016, adding a comment:

Awards
Order for Courage, 3rd class (2 May 2022)

See also
 Ghost of Kyiv
 List of aircraft losses during the Russo-Ukrainian War
  (ex-deputy commander of the 40th TAB)
 Anton Lystopad
 Mykhailo Matiushenko (Grandfather)
 Moonfish (pilot)
 Oleksandr Oksanchenko (Grey Wolf)
 Vladyslav Savieliev (Nomad)
 Stepan Tarabalka (falsely claimed in media as a personality behind "Ghost of Kyiv")
 Vadym Voroshylov (Karaya)

References

External links 
 
 
 
 Andriy Pilschykov on Spotters.Aero (Ukrainian Spotter's Site)
 Born for the sky: Andrii “Juice” Pilshchykov obituary by Volodymyr B. on Militarnyi

Video 
 , , 5 February 2023.
 , , 27 August 2023.
 , Vasyl Khemelevskyi, 27 August 2023.
 , Militarnyi, 29 August 2023.

1993 births
2023 deaths
Aerial photographers
Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents
Ivan Kozhedub National Air Force University alumni
Members of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Military history
Military personnel from Kharkiv
Recipients of the Order For Courage, 3rd class
Ukrainian Air Force officers
Ukrainian military aviators
Ukrainian military personnel killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukrainian photographers
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2023
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Ukraine