01/03/2022
A TOAST TO “GREY WOLF”
I'm always careful. When a war has broken out, one of the first casualties is almost always the Truth. Various factions spread rumours and fake news, i.e. propaganda, is always cooked up on purpose. So, it's always hard to get some story confirmed as legit.
After having operated as an "airpower artist" for several decades, I've been accidentally building quite a network of airpower insiders who every now and then provide me with information, in a legitimate way and with legal content. For use in my artwork.
So now I can say: I have it on good authority within the international airpower community that the "Ghost Of Kyiv" is real. Hard to believe since one single individual has done such an incredible feat, but it seems true at last. This is the message I received:
“Yes, de Ghost of Kiev was real. An Ace, and was shot down and killed. A guard unit here was his sister squadron. They knew him. Came out of retirement to fight for his country. A toast to the Ukrainian Colonel known as “Grey Wolf”. 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade.”
By Peter Van Stigt
https://www.facebook.com/petervanstigt
The fighter pilots fof the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade and Aviators from the global aviation community knows him well and they extended their respect and salute to the late Colonel. Only those who fly can understand.
The “Ghost of Kyiv” is just a title made by so many individuals... but one thing is for sure to all aviators... Aviators are out there flying and fighting for their respective countries.
Colonel Oleksandr “Grey Wolf” Oksanchenko who was the Ukrainian Air Force Flanker display pilot between 2013-2018 was shot down over Kyiv by Russian air defences.
‘Col. Oksanchenko was not only a very experienced pilot who won a number of awards for the best flying display at many events across Europe, but he was also a true fan of airshows. Despite leaving the active service and joining the reserves in late 2018 he volunteered to remain in the Ukrainian Flanker Solo Display Team as a coach/advisor and travelled with the team during the 2019 display season which was also the last airshow season for the team.
‘He came out of retirement to defend his country from the Russian invasion and paid the highest price. Col. Oksanchenko was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine by the president of the Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Post shared by Pinoy