KARAYA: While the war is raging, there is no time to get tired or rest
Vadym Voroshylov, a pilot and major of the Ukrainian Air Force, Hero of Ukraine, is behind the call sign Karaya. In October 2022, during a massive Russian shelling, the serviceman shot down two missiles and five Iranian drones — the last of these damaged Voroshylov's plane, causing a fire to break out on board.
Learn how Karaya chose the profession of a pilot, his memories of the ejection from an aircraft and his involvement in the media in the article.
The way to the sky. How Karaya became a fighter pilot
"After school, I entered a military lyceum. At that time, I did not fully understand the intricacies of the pilot's profession or have any idea of its beauty. However, my platoon commander was a helicopter pilot, and he told me a lot about aviation," says Vadym Voroshylov, explaining what led him to the profession.
After hearing his commander's stories in 2011, Voroshylov enrolled at the Kharkiv National Air Force University, named after Ivan Kozhedub.
If I had the opportunity to live my life over again, I would never change this choice,
says Karaya.
The pilot took his callsign from the German pilot Erich Hartmann, considered the most effective fighter pilot of World War II. Vadym Voroshylov ironically adopted the callsign after the outbreak of the war in 2014, when Russians began calling Ukrainians "neo-Nazis".
After graduating from the university in 2017, Voroshilov began defending Ukraine in the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone. In the same year, he became the best young pilot of the South Air Command.
In 2021, due to bureaucracy in the official institutions, Karaya resigned from the Air Force. He says the decision was a challenging one.
I am continuing my [professional] course exclusively in aviation. A person who has tasted the sky can no longer live without it,
Voroshilov wrote on social media and went to work in civil aviation.
Full-scale war
Even before February 24, watching the news about the accumulation of troops and the so-called "exercises" of the Russians, the pilot decided that if a full-scale war broke out, he would return to military service. And so it happened — Karaya got back behind the wheel of a fighter jet and returned to the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force.
On October 10, during a massive missile attack, the pilot shot down two Russian cruise missiles. The morning of October 12 began for Voroshylov with an air raid alert around 4 am. Then he destroyed three Shahed-136 kamikaze drones in the south, landed and performed other combat missions throughout the day.
In the evening, the Russians attacked Ukraine again with Iranian drones. The Karaya shot down two of them over Vinnytsia — the debris from the last drone's explosion damaged Voroshilov's plane, and a fire broke out on board.
I thought, ' I don't want to eject'. However, at that time, it was impossible to land at any of the backup airfields or even to fly the aircraft,
the pilot recalls.
The plane did not survive, but Karaya took it to a field as far away from populated areas as possible before ejecting it to avoid causing a disaster. After landing, the pilot reported the coordinates to his commander, smoked, and then walked to the nearest house. He says he keeps in touch with the family who sheltered him that evening.
Before ejecting, Voroshilov took a selfie to assess his condition. The photo of his bloody face went viral. Karaya says that he hasn't washed the helmet he was wearing at the time from the blood yet — he kept it as a memento.
On December 5, 2022, the President awarded Vadym Voroshylov the title Hero of Ukraine and the Order of the Golden Star.
He has recovered, undergone treatment and rehabilitation, and is back on combat missions today.
The personification of the Air Force
Vadym Voroshylov has almost 200,000 followers on Instagram. In his spare time, the pilot enjoys video editing and posts his flights on his blog.
"A large audience is a big responsibility. I understand that, to some extent, I look like the personification of the Air Force in people's eyes. Therefore, I have to live up to this status and use this resource only for the benefit of the state," says Karaya.
He calls on people to financially help the Ukrainian Defence Forces; if they cannot, use their media resources to remind foreigners of the bloody war. Voroshylov also emphasises that our Air Force needs modern Western-style fighters.
We see the enemy insidiously shelling the entire territory of Ukraine. Therefore, as long as there is an opportunity, all Ukrainians should study and master any areas that can help, including medical and tactical training.
We are all human and feel physical and moral fatigue, but doing our duty is above that. There is no time to get tired or rest as long as the war is ongoing. We are losing many heroes, but now, above all, we need to focus on moving forward,
Karaya concludes.
