1968–2022
Oleksandr Oksanchenko
Fighter ace, call sign “Grey Wolf”
A champion of European airshows who threw his Su-27 through loops for crowds in Britain, the Czech Republic and Poland. Colonel Oleksandr Oksanchenko, call sign “Grey Wolf”, was killed defending the skies over Kyiv region on 25 February 2022, the war's second day. Hero of Ukraine, posthumously.
Key accomplishments
- Graduated from the Kharkiv Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots (1989)
- For over two decades, deputy commander for flight training of the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade (Myrhorod); Su-27 display pilot (2013-2018), with over 2,000 flying hours
- Represented Ukraine's Air Force at airshows in Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Denmark, Belgium and Malta
- Won the "As the Crow Flies" trophy at the 2017 Royal International Air Tattoo for the best flying display
- Hero of Ukraine (posthumously, 2022)
Why “Grey Wolf”?
Oleksandr Oksanchenko was born on 26 April 1968 in the village of Malomykhailivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. In 1989 he graduated from the Kharkiv Higher Military Aviation School of Pilots and became a military pilot. For more than twenty years he served with the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade in Myrhorod, as deputy commander for flight training.
From 2013 to 2018, Oksanchenko was the brigade’s display pilot: flying the Su-27, he performed aerobatic routines at Europe’s biggest airshows, in Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Denmark, Belgium and Malta. Audiences and fellow pilots gave him the call sign “Grey Wolf”. In 2017, at the Royal International Air Tattoo - the world’s largest military airshow - he won the “As the Crow Flies” trophy for the best flying display.
His last flight
In 2018 Oksanchenko retired from active service and became a city councillor in Myrhorod. But when the full-scale invasion began on 24 February 2022, he returned to duty. On 25 February 2022, Colonel Oleksandr Oksanchenko was killed in an air battle defending the skies over the Kyiv region. He was 53.
Why it matters today
Oleksandr Oksanchenko showed Europe what Ukrainian military pilots can do: at the biggest airshows, crowds saw Ukraine in the sky with his Su-27. For more than twenty years he was in charge of flight training in Myrhorod, passing his skill on to other pilots. When the full-scale invasion began he was already retired, yet he came back to defend the skies over the Kyiv region. His example shows that skill built in peacetime becomes protection when the country is in danger.
