He dreamed of F-16s in the Ukrainian sky,” said Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat in a statement Saturday. “He was an excellent communicator (and) the driving force behind reforms in the Air Force aviation, a participant in many projects,” he continued. He had campaigned for the supply of F-16s, the Air Force said. Portuguese Air Force F-16 military fighter jets participate in NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Lithuanian airspace near Siauliai, on May 23, 2023. In 2022, Pilshchikov met with American government officials and was “in constant contact with Californian pilots,” the Air Force noted.

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Persons: Andriy Pilshchikov, ”, Yurii, “, Ihnat, Pilshchikov, ” Ihnat, Volodymyr Zelensky, ’, Pilshchikov “, It’s, ” Zelensky, CNN’s Anderson Cooper, Juice, Petras Malukas, Pat Ryder Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian Air Force, Air Force, Portuguese Air Force, Air Policing Mission, Getty, Ukraine, US, Morris Air National Guard Base, Air National, 162nd, Pentagon Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, American, Zhytomyr, United States, Siauliai, AFP, Netherlands, Denmark, Tucson , Arizona