Directed His Su-25 At An Enemy Convoy: Pilot Oleksandr Zhybrov Posthumously Awarded the Title of Hero of Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine to Lieutenant Colonel Oleksandr Zhybrov, who was killed on February 24, 2022, during an attack on a Russian military convoy in the Kherson region.

This is stated in Decree No. 1048/2026 of the President of Ukraine dated October 19, 2026.

Oleksandr Zhybrov, who commanded an aviation squadron of the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade named after Lieutenant General Vasyl Nikiforov, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine along with the Order of the Golden Star.

On the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, the lieutenant colonel organized the withdrawal of aircraft from under enemy fire and their redeployment to an operational airfield.

Oleksandr Zhybrov led the first pair of Su-25 ground-attack aircraft that set out to attack Russian columns advancing from the territory of occupied Crimea. On February 24 at 12:10 p.m., the pilot took off from the Kanatove airfield in a Su-25 ground-attack aircraft with the tail number Blue 19.

The Ukrainian pilots’ target was a convoy of Russian KrAZ-255B trucks belonging to the pontoon bridge unit near the village of Chaplynka in the Kherson region. According to the wingman’s recollection, during the attack on the convoy, they first dropped aerial bombs and then fired unguided air-to-ground missiles.

According to information from the Ukrainian State Flight Academy, after the first strike, Zhybrov noticed engineering equipment intended for building crossings over the Dnipro River and decided to launch a second attack.

During his second approach, his aircraft was hit by Russian air defense systems. Despite the damage, the pilot continued the attack and, having lost control of the attack aircraft, directed it toward the remnants of the enemy convoy.

According to the flight academy, Zhybrov then attempted to eject, but there was insufficient altitude for a safe escape. The lieutenant colonel was killed.

The body of the fallen pilot was found by local residents, who buried him in Chaplynka on March 15, 2022. In late December of that same year, the body was successfully returned to territory controlled by Ukraine. On March 11, 2023, Oleksandr Zhybrov was reburied in the Alley of Honorary Military Burials at the Far Eastern Cemetery in Kropyvnytskyi.

For his courage and self-sacrifice in defending Ukraine, the lieutenant colonel was posthumously awarded the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd Class, on March 26, 2022.

In September 2026, the father of the fallen pilot donated his son’s personal belongings to the museum of the Ukrainian State Flight Academy, including his flight logbook, a flight training notebook, and a model of a Su-25 with the tail number 19.