He never dreamed of sky but became a legend. Ukrainian hero Karaya ready to conquer F-16 in 3 months instead of 3 years

He shot down seven enemy targets and then realized that his plane had been shot down. The pilot, Vadym Voroshylov, did not see that blood was pouring down his face. While falling, he was saving others on the ground – he was taking his plane away from the houses. And he succeeded. He was injured, but survived and returned to duty in a few months.

He never dreamed of being a pilot, but now he can't imagine himself in any other profession

Voroshylov did not dream of becoming a pilot, so one cannot expect any romantic story about his dreams of the sky from him. Vadym was raised by a single mother. She wanted her son to become a military officer, so at the age of 15, he entered the Kremenchuk Lyceum with enhanced military and physical training.

After graduating from the lyceum, he went to the Ivan Kozhedub Kharkiv National Air Force University. At the university, cadets learned to fly Albatross jet aircraft (cadets flew these aircraft for 2 years – in the 3rd and 4th years). His course was experimental, a 5th year, a master's degree was added and the most interesting part was flying combat aircraft. So when they joined the military unit, they were able to fly MiG-29 and Su-25.

In 2016, after graduating with honors, Vadym served as a pilot in the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade. In 2017, he became the best young pilot of the South Air Command. But in 2021, after the end of his contract term, he resigned from the Armed Forces of Ukraine – he was not satisfied with the bureaucracy in the Air Force. He became a senior aviation chief at a civilian airfield.

Hero of Ukraine Karaya

On the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion, Major Vadym Voroshylov switched from a civilian plane to a fighter jet. On October 12, he shot down five Shahed-136 drones: three in southern Ukraine and two over Vinnytsia. Then his plane was damaged by Russians, so he had to eject.

“When Vadym's plane was damaged, the debris hit the ejection chute behind the pilot's head. This parachute is now in our museum,” says Volodymyr Poliakov, head of the Kremenchuk Museum of Military History. “Now, when I give tours, I show the parachute in Vadym's blood. Vadym did not publish the photo with his bloody face for a long time either, but now it is known to many people.”

Poliakov was the headmaster of the lyceum when Voroshylov was studying there. He recalls that Vadym was a decent and well-mannered lyceum student. On December 5, 2022, he became a Hero of Ukraine.

“There are six Heroes of Ukraine in Kremenchuk. Three of them are my graduates: Karaya, Serhii Volynskyi with the call sign “Volyna” from Azov, and another artilleryman who met orcs on the night of February 25, a National Guard lieutenant colonel Oleh Holinei,” Volodymyr Poliakov boasts of his graduates. “So there are pilots, marines, and national guard fighters among my former students. To be honest, it's very nice! A turner makes a part and immediately sees the results of his work, while an educator or teacher does not always see it. And I have such a situation – they are at war. I saw it myself when I was at the front in 2014.”

He is not afraid to show his face, because he is at home, on his land

Vadym is active on Instagram. He wants people to see the power and greatness of Ukrainian aviation. And a photo of him wearing a helmet with blood on it was shared by all the media. He is not afraid to show his face, because he is at home, on his land, defending his country.

The call sign Karaya was chosen back in 2014 for a reason. It is the military nickname of Erich Hartmann, the most effective fighter pilot of World War II. When Russians began calling Ukrainians neo-Nazis, Voroshylov jokingly adopted this call sign and has been using it ever since.

On Instagram, Vadym talks about his equipment. For example, his overalls are made of non-combustible material and cost 8 thousand hryvnias. And it was his overalls that saved Vadym from burns to his legs when the cockpit was on fire.

“Vadym told me that the plane began to lose control – it could not go up or down, only sideways. The pilot saw that a village below him was on fire, started to turn left, brought the plane down, and then ejected. You see, he was calm, balanced, and sensible back in the lyceum, and he did the right thing here. To assess his condition, he managed to take a picture of himself while parachuting down, and he also reported to the ground that he was alive. You see, they are just children to me, and they are already fighting like this!” the former lyceum director and the teacher does not hide his admiration for his student.

“Karaya is a reliable friend, you can always rely on him”

“Every meeting where Vadym is present, whether it's someone's birthday or just a coffee somewhere, half of the conversations we have will be about the life of aircraft. Vadym can tell us the differences between the MiG-29 and the NATO F-16. He speaks English and knows about the Air Force reform. Why did he leave in 2021? He said: ‘I can't work like this, the conditions are too difficult.’ The conditions are the same now, but it's a full-scale war. Back then, fighter jets were not involved in the fighting in Donbas. Vadym spoke about Soviet approaches, that we were not reforming our army, and he was looking up to the United States and NATO standards. I don't know any other people who had such a deep understanding of such details: how things are, how they should be, and what we need to do,” says Vadym's friend Oleksii Movchan.

He has known Voroshylov for over a decade. He says he reminds him of James Bond.

Vadym recently turned 29 years old. On his Instagram, he shared his wishes and thanked all his companions who are defending Ukraine:

“At the age of 17, I took a military oath to the people of Ukraine to always be faithful and loyal to them. In those years, I could not imagine what times and events would await us... ATO, JFO, a full-scale and barbaric invasion. But I am sure that I will witness the collapse of muscovy. I'm glad to be alive and continue to fulfill my military duty, the duty of a man and a warrior. The best gift will be when we receive modern fighters because we have proved to the whole world that despite the enemy's numerical and technical superiority in the air, our Air Force has been holding the sky of Ukraine for almost a year. After all, we have something that the enemy does not have – a thirst for the freedom and liberty of the people, so with a shield or on a shield! We remember everyone who laid down their lives for our freedom! I thank all my brothers who are defending our country at sea, on land, and in the air. Glory to Ukraine!”

Author: Nina Korol