Vadym Voroshilov took a selfie video midair after ejecting from his MiG-29. It was the dead of night and he had just shot down multiple Shahed-136 drones sent across the border by Russia. While intercepting the last Iranian-built weapon in the skies above central Ukraine, his plane was damaged, a fire started in the cockpit and Voroshilov was wounded in the process. Seconds later, he was parachuting towards Earth. His phone screen showed a blood-covered face amid the darkness. He breathed steadily through an oxygen mask, and gave a thumbs-up to the camera. Next, Voroshilov had to figure out how to land without dying.
Upon touchdown with his MiG-29 in flames on the horizon, Voroshilov set off to get help. “I managed to make a call, informing command that I’d ejected and was alive but then my phone died. After that, I followed directions on my emergency GPS to the nearest town, it was about 8 kilometres away so I walked to it.”
Videos by VICE
Voroshilov is a 28-year-old fighter pilot from Kremenchuk in central Ukraine, and has attracted attention for uploading slick videos of his exploits to his Instagram account, where he has more than 154,000 followers, as well as YouTube. The Ukrainian Air Force has been outgunned since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February, but Ukraine has managed to keep control of its skies while mostly operating on Soviet-era machinery. This has come at a high cost, Ukraine’s Air Force has seen steep casualties and a significant loss of planes, but the exact details are secret – subject to wartime censorship.
Voroshilov, who goes by the callsign “Karaya,” joined the Armed Forces in 2011. Over the past few months he has focused on destroying a near-constant barrage of incoming cruise missiles and kamikaze drones. Ukraine’s Air Force reported that they have destroyed over 300 of these Iranian-made drones, Russia’s cheap new favourite weapon. They are noisy, but difficult to spot on radar and shoot down.
“Destroying these drones is quite complicated,” Voroshilov says. “We don’t have visual contact with the target, only radar and nothing else. But we understand that if we don’t fulfil our duties, it will not only cause harm to civilians but damage infrastructure, especially the power system.”
Since early October, Russia has launched widespread attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, disabling nearly half of the country’s energy infrastructure. This pushes Voroshilov to work harder. Despite long hours and dangerous missions, Voroshilov says: “No one and nothing can break us. The Defense Forces of Ukraine protect not only our state, they stand to protect the whole civilised world. It’s a shield that protects the Western world from the chaos and destruction [of Russia].”
At the time of our interview, Voroshilov had been undergoing rehabilitation for injuries he sustained in his jet crash in mid-October. While he was taking out Shaheds, his plane was damaged by debris smashing into it. A fire then broke out in the cockpit and the aircraft controls started to fail.
He says he didn’t feel any emotion, and acted fast. “At first, I felt that I didn’t want to eject but that was for a moment as I didn’t have time to waste on unnecessary thoughts, I had a job to do.” He immediately turned the jet away from the city of Vinnytsia, to avoid any civilian casualties. “I couldn’t make a tilt so I made a roll of the aircraft as it approached Vinnytsia. I rolled to the left side and was able to remove my legs from the pedals which were stuck. By that time, the fire had reached my legs and feet. The cockpit windshield was gone so blood was sent everywhere.” He was bleeding from his neck as well as his leg.
“It was around 9PM and the destruction of the plane had begun. As I prepared to eject, I realised there were burns on my face along with wounds to my neck,” he said, “but it was only after successfully ejecting that I began to think about what had happened.” He credits the fire-retardant Nomex fabric of his US military-issue flight suit and the speed of his ejection for saving him from sustaining greater burns. “It all happened within a matter of seconds but I remember that while I was moving away from the cockpit [in mid-air], I could see that the back part of the plane was also on fire,” he said.
Shahed drones often fly at low altitudes, so Voroshilov was already dangerously close to the ground when his parachute engaged. In the same week that Vadym ejected from his jet, a Su-24M aircraft crashed after being hit by a Russian missile, and one of its two pilots died after ejecting.
Unsure of the extent of his injuries, Voroshilov pulled out his phone. “There was blood in my eyes so I took a video to try and see the scale of my injuries,” he said. Once safely on the ground, he sat on his parachute and smoked a cigarette to contemplate his next move, “My left leg had also been injured and I knew that I’d need medical aid.”
Voroshilov eventually arrived at a nearby village, covered in blood. “Standing on the main street, dogs started barking and then people came out from their houses to find me. I introduced myself, informed them that I was part of the Ukrainian Air Force and I showed them my documents. They then called for help.”
Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has labelled him the “Shahed killer,” and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree earlier this month awarding Voroshilov the title “Hero of Ukraine” and order of the gold star, citing Voroshilov’s personal courage and service.
He is determined to start flying again soon. “I’ll be back in the air to carry out my missions. I’ll be provided with a replacement jet, although it’s necessary to understand that Russia’s planes are much more modern than ours.” Voroshilov adds. “Due to the enemy’s advantage in numbers and technology, it has forced us to come up with new air combat tactics that don’t exist in any aviation manual or handbook.” This includes flying at extremely low heights to blend in with the terrain, offering Ukrainian jets the element of surprise when sneaking up on Russian planes.
So far, Ukraine’s pleas for modern, Western aircrafts have been denied mostly out of fear of provoking Putin and escalating the conflict further. If Western allies supplied fighter jets – which are equal to if not superior to those used by the Russian Air Force – it would give Ukraine the upper hand.
Voroshilov is ready to go out again. “I’m grateful to be in good health. I’m thankful for the medical staff that helped me recover in such a short time. I’ll soon be back at the wheel.”
