Ukrainian media reported on 22/12 that Oleksandr Shemet, commander of a Mi-24 helicopter, died last week when his aircraft crashed in Cherkasy province. His brother, Yuriy Shemet, confirmed the details, stating that the incident, which also claimed the lives of three other crew members, occurred after the helicopter collided with a Russian Shahed-type unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The 12th Independent Army Aviation Brigade had announced the crash on 18/12, without identifying the victims or the cause.

Yuriy Shemet explained that his brother's helicopter was dispatched on the evening of 17/12 to intercept Russian UAVs. After takeoff, contact was maintained with the command center before the aircraft abruptly vanished from radar. Preliminary investigations suggest the Mi-24 struck a Russian Shahed-type UAV, which flew extremely low and evaded air defense detection.

Oleksandr Shemet in a 2023 photo. Photo: Hromadske.

"Investigators told me they had never seen anything like it. The helicopter was so severely damaged it was almost torn apart, the bodies charred", Yuriy stated, conveying the devastation. He also dismissed earlier reports of technical malfunction or pilot error, asserting that "black box data clearly shows that all systems were operating normally."

Oleksandr Shemet, 55, was born in Chernihiv province but spent most of his life in the Lviv region after graduating from a military academy. He served in eastern Ukraine from 2015 and played a role in defending the capital Kyiv during the initial phase of the conflict with Russia.

Shemet received numerous accolades, including the highest honor, "Hero of Ukraine", and the Gold Star Order, for his combat achievements on the Mariupol front in 2022. His brother recounted a particularly perilous mission: "He once flew to the besieged city of Mariupol to transport ammunition, medical equipment, and evacuate the wounded. They faced intense fire on the return journey, but he saved both the aircraft and the crew and returned safely."

The Ukrainian Air Force has reported other significant losses recently. Lieutenant Colonel Yevhenii Vitaliiovych Ivanov, a veteran with almost 30 years of service, died on 8/12 during a combat mission in a Su-27 fighter jet on the eastern front. Another Ukrainian pilot was also killed while fighting in a Su-27 aircraft in Zaporizhzhia province in September.

Pham Giang (According to Ukrainska Pravda, Suspilne)