A Ukrainian Air Force Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29 was lost under unknown circumstances while approaching an unspecified landing position after completing a combat mission.
The incident occurred in the early hours of 23 August 2025. The pilot, Mayor Serhii Viktorovych Bondar of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade “Ghosts of Kyiv,” was killed as a result.
The loss of the aircraft and pilot was officially acknowledged by the Ukrainian Air Force.
The Air Force did not specify what mission the pilot was carrying out when the death occurred. During Russia’s aerial attacks on Ukraine, which have grown increasingly intense and frequent in recent months, Ukraine’s pilots often work with land-based air defense to repel the attacks.
Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine with 49 Shahed combat drones and decoys, according to the Air Force. Thirteen struck targets, while 36 were repelled, the Air Force said.
In June, Bondar was formally honored alongside other soldiers with a state award “for personal courage shown in protecting the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and selfless performance of military duty” in a formal decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky. He was born in 1979.
