Oleksii Mes (20 October 1993 – 26 August 2024) was a Ukrainian fighter pilot with the call sign "Moonfish" of the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

of the

Armed Forces of Ukraine The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are the Military, military forces of Ukraine. All military and security forces, including the Armed Forces, are under the command of the president of Ukraine and subject to oversight by a permanent Verkhovna Rad ...

. He died when his F-16 crashed while repelling a Russian missile attack, according to the Ukrainian military. In 2025, he was posthumously awarded the title of

Hero of Ukraine A Hero of Ukraine (HOU; ) is the highest national decoration that can be conferred upon an individual citizen by the president of Ukraine. The decoration was created in 1998 by President Leonid Kuchma. As of 6 June 2025, the total number of re ...

.Decree of the President of Ukraine from 14 березня 2025 year № 165/202
«Про присвоєння О.Месю звання Герой України»

Biography

Oeksii Mes was born in

Shepetivka Shepetivka (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city located on the Huska River in Khmelnytskyi Oblast (Oblast, province) in western Ukraine. Shepetivka is the Capital (political), administrative center of Shepetivka Raion (Raion, district). ...

on 20 October 1993. As of June 2022, Moonfish was the commander of a squadron of Ukrainian

MiG-29 The Mikoyan MiG-29 (; NATO reporting name: Fulcrum) is a twinjet, twin-engine fighter aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. Developed by the Mikoyan design bureau as an air superiority fighter during the 1970s, the MiG-29, along with the large ...

fighters. In August 2023, Moonfish started a training course in the United Kingdom with plans to eventually fly an

F-16 The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is an American single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it e ...

Advocacy efforts

In June 2022, Moonfish visited the US with another Ukrainian pilot, call sign

Juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or Cold-pressed juice, pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat ...

, to lobby for

s for Ukraine. They met with several US lawmakers and explained which modern weapons systems were needed most in Ukraine.

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

accompanied the pilots in some of the meetings, to amplify their message. The pilots met with

Adam Kinzinger Adam Daniel Kinzinger (; born February 27, 1978) is an American politician, senior political commentator for CNN, and former lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. He served as a United States representative from Illinois from 2011 to 20 ...

in his office in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

As a result, Kinzinger introduced the Ukraine Fighter Pilots Act to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

on 17 June 2022. The bill was cosponsored by other congressmembers.

F-16 involvement

After months of advocacy to ensure F-16s for Ukraine, Moonfish was among the first Ukrainian pilots to start F-16 training in the US. He gave an extensive interview to Ukrainian TV describing the process. In the fall of 2023, his training advanced from a simulator cockpit to actual F-16 airframes.

Death

On 26 August 2024, Moonfish was killed when his F-16 crashed while repelling a Russian aerial attack, according to the Ukrainian military. He was 30. A special commission from the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

has been established to determine the cause of the accident and is currently working in the area where the plane went down. Ukrainian lawmaker Maryana Bezuhla has claimed, "According to my information, the F-16 of Ukrainian pilot Oleksiy 'Moonfish' Mes was shot down by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system due to discoordination between units".

Awards

*Titled

with the Order of the Golden Star (14 March 2025, posthumously) *

Medal For Military Service to Ukraine The Medal For Military Service to Ukraine () is an award of Ukraine. It was established by the Decree of the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma on October 5, 1996, to honour servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military formations ...

(6 September 2022)Decree of the President of Ukraine from 6 вересня 2022 year № 627/202
«Про відзначення державними нагородами України»

References

External links

* * // Ми — Україна. — 2023. — 19 серпня. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mes, Oleksii 1993 births 2024 deaths Ukrainian military aviators Ukrainian Air Force officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2024 Ukrainian military personnel killed in the Russian invasion of Ukraine People from Shepetivka Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in Ukraine