The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Viacheslav Aheiev began his service on the Soviet-era S-300 air defense system, with which he destroyed many targets, and now fights the enemy using the American Patriot system and has become a Hero of Ukraine.
The officer’s story was published on January 27 on the page of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
An orphan who chose a military uniform because he simply had no other path. An officer who grew up in an army that had been written off for years. A commander who, under shelling, assembled a combat-ready battalion from two damaged ones. A man who mastered Patriot to the level of intuition. And ultimately — a Hero of Ukraine, whose unit today is a benchmark of professionalism.
In 2009, the Ukrainian army was on the brink of survival: chronic underfunding, sold-off equipment, and public indifference. Few thought about a major war at the time.
After the Odesa Military Lyceum with enhanced military and physical training, I enrolled in the Kharkiv National Air Force University. It was there that the phrase “You will be an air defense missile officer” happened — and determined everything.
The first years of service passed in the conditions of a “peacetime” army. He wanted to serve closer to home — in Nova Kakhovka. But 2014 crossed out those plans. Crimean units disappeared, and frontline units were reinforced first. Thus, he ended up in a Kyiv air defense brigade as the chief of the S-300 command post crew.
Repairs, adjustments, personnel training, and maintaining combat readiness. After the occupation of Crimea, the pace of combat training increased many times over. It was in the position of deputy battalion commander for armaments that Viacheslav Aheiev met February 24, 2022.
The first days of the full-scale invasion meant constant strikes on positions, evacuation of surviving equipment, and maneuvers. And within a day — a decision that determined the further course of the battles: one combat-ready battalion was assembled from two damaged ones. Aheiev was appointed in command.
Real air defense battles began. The first downed target — a Russian aircraft — gave confidence.
In March 2022, he took command of an S-300 battalion. In the first months, the unit destroyed about fifty aerial targets — a phenomenal result for the S-300PT system.
One of the most vivid episodes was the battles for Kyiv, the Moshchun area. Su-24 and Su-35 aircraft were approaching for a strike. One missile failed to leave the container. The second worked and covered two targets at once.
“Usually, we launch two missiles at one target. But here it turned out the opposite: with one missile, we shot down two aircraft.
We launched. One missile did not leave the container. The second jumped out of the launcher, hovered in the air for a moment, ignited its engine, and rushed toward the targets. The aircraft were flying so close together that the cloud of fragments from the missile’s warhead covered both of them.
Visual observation posts confirmed the destruction of the aircraft. It was one of the brightest moments. We still remember this episode”, — Viacheslav recalls.
That is why his unit was among the first to be sent for training in the United States to master the Patriot system. After just a few weeks, Ukrainian air defenders were ready to return home and fight.
The night of May 4, 2023 became historic: the world’s first downed aeroballistic Kinzhal missile — what Russia called “unparalleled”.
On May 16, 2023, Kyiv came under a massive attack: 16 ballistic missiles at once. The pace of work was such that residents thought multiple launch rocket systems were operating. In just over a minute, all targets were destroyed.
The hardest battle took place on January 2, 2024: more than 50 cruise missiles, 10 ballistic missiles, and dozens of Shaheds. Aheiev’s unit alone destroyed 8 cruise missiles and 10 Kinzhals that day.
On February 8, 2024, Viacheslav Aheiev received the Gold Star of the Hero of Ukraine at the Mariinsky Palace.
“This is our award. Yours just as much as mine”, — Viacheslav recalls telling his personnel.
Today, his battalion is one of the most effective in the world in terms of the number of ballistic missiles shot down. And the Hero of Ukraine continues to command, train the young, and hold the Ukrainian sky.
“We will defend the sky for as long as it takes. We move together — toward victory”, — the commander concludes.
