In 2023, a Ukrainian officer named Volodymyr shot down a Russian Su-24MR aircraft with a missile bearing the inscription: “For Artur Batiyi. A true Cossack.” It was an act of revenge for his friend, killed in a Russian assault, the Operational Command West reports. 

“This was for you, and I hope you saw it,” the soldier recalls the successful strike.

His crew has destroyed over 30 targets, such as jets, a helicopter, a cruise missile, and drones.

But the most unforgettable shot was that one in March 2023.

“That day, I received the devastating news that my friend Artur Batiy had been killed… He died in an enemy mortar attack,” the air defense officer says.

Before the mission, he signed the missile and set out on the hunt with his unit.

“After we hit the target, I looked to the sky, and my first thought was, ‘I did everything I could. That was for you, and I hope you saw it,” he adds. 

From student to hero of the sky

Before the war, Volodymyr was a student who dreamed of military service. In 2014, when his family fled occupied Donetsk, he joined the army.

Since 2020, he’s been an officer in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. His first shootdown happened at 5:30 a.m. on 24 February 2022.

“The sky turned red. The enemy was everywhere. But there was no fear, only focus,” Volodymyr says. 

Dreams of Crimea

For his heroism, Volodymyr has been awarded the Orders For Courage of II and III class, the Medal For Military Service to Ukraine, and a badge For the Destruction of Enemy Aircraft.

His dream after victory is to visit Crimea, where he once walked with his parents “to feel that we endured and reclaimed what’s ours.”