Ukraine mourns ace fighter pilot 'Juice' killed in collision

Ukrainian servicemen attend a wake ceremony of Ukrainian military pilot Andriy Pilshchykov, who was killed on Friday when two L-39 combat training aircraft collided over a region west of Kyiv, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine August 29, 2023. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

KYIV (Reuters) - Hundreds of Ukrainians attended a church ceremony on Tuesday to pay their last respects to a celebrated fighter pilot with the callsign Juice who was killed in an air disaster during training.

The death of Andriy Pilshchykov, 30, a poster boy for Ukraine's air force who lobbied Western governments for supplies of F-16 fighter jets, was a bitter blow for Ukraine's military as it battles Russia.