Ukraine is mourning the loss of three fighter pilots killed as two training aircraft collided in the skies some 90 miles west of Kyiv. Singled out for particular praise by president Volodymr Zelensky and Ukraine’s airforce is Captain Andriy Pilshchykov, a pilot who went by the military callsign “Juice”. The late pilot, who was 30 years old when the crash occured over the western Zhytomyr region on Friday, had become known not just for his defence of Ukraine, but also for his passionate advocacy for the United States to provide Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets. The Mig-29 pilot first won fame in Ukraine as he took part in “dogfights” with Moscow’s fighter jets in the skies above Kyiv during the initial months of Russia’s invasion, according to Ukrainian news outlets. As Russian air sorties over Kyiv grew fewer, Pilshchykov continued to defend Ukraine’s skies as he sought to intercept Russian cruise missiles and drones before they struck targets on the ground – and by last May had already racked up 500 hours of combat flights. Last summer, he was one of two Ukrainian pilots chosen to travel to Washington to lobby members of the US Congress to provide Kyiv with F-16 fighter jets, which Joe Biden’s administration eventually agreed to do in May. “Juice” also gave multiple interviews with Western media outlets, speaking to Sky News, the BBC, CNN and Washington Post to name a few, as he fought Ukraine’s case to be provided with the jets. In one interview with the BBC, he said of his missions: “Intercepting the cruise missiles, your mission is to save the lives on the ground, to save the city. If you are not able, it's a terrible feeling that somebody will die. Somebody will die in minutes and you didn't prevent that.” In another broadcast with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, he said: “All of us are ready to fight, just with our jets, with our guns, even just in the fields with rifles. “So our people, including me, we are ready to fight Russians, and we are ready to defend our country, to defend our people in absolutely any ways. But we need tools, effective tools, to do this efficiently.” His call sign, “Juice”, was reportedly given to him by US pilots during a joint training exercise because he did not drink alcohol, and air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat hailed him as a “main driver of an advocacy group promoting many decisions on the F-16s”, who was “in constant contact with Californian pilots”. Speaking to The Guardian, Mr Ihnat also praised “Juice” as a driver of reforms in the air force was “trying to bring Nato standards into Ukraine … and even western traditions, such as the burning of pianos to honour a fallen pilot”. His death has struck a chord in Ukraine, where official footage on Sunday appeared to show troops lined up on a runway to commemorate Pilshchykov and his two fallen comrades Major Viacheslav Minka and Major Serhii Prokazin, as a piano played a sombre lament and was set alight in tribute. Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office has opened a criminal investigation into whether flight preparation rules were violated prior to the fatal crash on Friday, which involved two L-39 training aircraft. As he vowed that the investigation would clarify the circumstances of the crash, Mr Zelensky hailed “Juice” in his nightly address on Saturday as “one of those who helped our country a lot”, adding: “Ukraine will never forget anyone who defended Ukraine’s free sky. May they always be remembered.” Mr Ihnat, of Ukraine’s air force, described Pilshchykov as a “mega talent”, adding: “You can't even imagine how much he wanted to fly an F-16. But now that American planes are actually on the horizon, he will not fly them.” Writing on Facebook, Mr Ihnat added: “Andriy Pilshchykov was not just a pilot, he was a young officer with great knowledge and great talent. He was an excellent communicator, the driver of reforms in Air Force aircraft, a participant in many projects. “I often supported his crazy ideas, which gave incredible results.” Nolan Peterson, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council think-tank was among Western commentators to pay tribute to the pilot, saying: “The stories he told me about flying his MiG-29 in combat against Russia are the stuff of epics. He is a hero and will be rightly remembered as such.” Read More Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv claims five Moscow fighter jets hit by drones, as Prigozhin ‘confirmed dead’ Ukrainian high jumper Mahuchikh takes gold in emotional close to world championships Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin confirmed dead by Russian investigators after plane crash Ukraine investigates incident that killed 3 pilots while Russia attacks with cruise missiles ‘Gangster’ Putin committed ‘most ostentatious’ act of savagery in our lifetimes, says Boris

Hundreds have gathered for a vigil to mourn the deaths of four young people, including two siblings, who were killed in a car crash in Co Tipperary. Young people in the crowd were seen comforting each other as they grieved the loss of 24-year-old Luke McSweeney, his sister Grace McSweeney, Zoey Coffey and Nicole Murphy, all aged 18. Classmates of McSweeney and Coffey from Presentation secondary school wore lilac jumpers that commemorate their graduate class of 2023. Grieving family members were also present at the Kickham Plaza gathering on Sunday evening. The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, told the crowd it was “amazing” to see so many people at the vigil, and that there was a “goodness” in people coming together to console one another. He said people would support one another in the coming days and “find a strength in that”. Mayor of Clonmel Richie Molloy addressed the vigil by saying that the tragedy was the worst in living memory. He added: “It’s very hard to know what the families are feeling this evening, and while we can imagine, it’s very hard to know. “All I can say as the mayor, the people of the town really want to show the families the feeling of unity that’s out there.” Father Michael Toomey, a chaplain at CBS High School – which Mr McSweeney attended, said that people in the Clonmel area and around the country had been left speechless by the tragedy. He said that some people will be struggling to make sense of it, and wondered “why them?” “The question we will certainly never get the answer to, not in this life anyway,” he added. “The deaths of Zoe, Nicole, Luke and Grace, it’s like a massive stone that hit a stilled lake, the rippled effects have sent shockwaves right across our family, our schools, our town, our country. “As I said to the girls in Loreto the other day, and the lads in the High School, none of us would ever get over their deaths. But we will learn to live with it. “It will become part of us and, as I also said, it will make us stronger once we grieve properly.” Young men and women embraced one another and cried as the vigil came to a close with the song Rise Up by Andra Day. Mr McSweeney was driving the teenagers to a bus on Friday when the car overturned and crashed into a wall in the town. The youngsters were on their way to celebrate their Leaving Cert exam results, which they had received earlier on Friday. Bouquets of flowers, notes and candles have continued to be left at the wall of Loreto Secondary School, where Ms Murphy went to school and which is around the corner from the scene of the crash. On Sunday, as Mountain Road was reopened, people covered a corner of a stone wall with more flowers, notes and candles. People also stopped their cars to stand in front of the scene and pay their respects. Earlier on Sunday, students attended Loreto secondary school and Presentation secondary school to mourn together. Education minister Norma Foley said that immediate support would be offered from schools and their staff, with the National Educational Psychological Service offering any further support. “Those services will be in place as long as they’re required by the schools and we’re very cognisant of the fact that different schools will have different needs,” she said. “I’m very conscious that the class of 2023 have technically moved on from the school but it is so important that they would know that the school continues to be there for them, the door of the school is always open to a student, whether they are an immediate student, or a past student, and so the supports will be ongoing as they’re required.” When asked about other tragedies involving school leavers that took place this summer, the minister said she had engaged with some of those schools involved and found they can help one another. “I’ve always been struck where they have pointed out that they have been raised up, their hearts have been lifted by that enormous solidarity from other schools.” Irish president Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were among those who expressed their sympathies, with Mr Varadkar saying the nation is in mourning. Mountain Road reopened on Sunday after a Garda forensic examination of the scene. Gardai are appealing for witnesses and said their investigation is focusing on preparing a report for the local coroner. Adverse weather conditions at the time of the crash, including heavy downpours at the scene when first responders arrived, will be considered as part of the inquiry. Read More Support for Clonmel students will be in place for as long as needed – minister Locals grieve after one of worst tragedies to befall Co Tipperary town Leaving Cert students had received ‘excellent’ exam results hours before fatal crash Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Two men and a woman were killed in a racially-motivated shooting in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday. The gunman, a white male in his twenties, “hated Black people”, Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said. He was identified on Sunday as 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office; the sheriff called him a “maniac.” The victims were identified as Angela Michelle Carr, 52, Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr, 19, and Jarrald De’Shaun Gallion, 29. The shooting took place at a Dollar General store just blocks from the historically-Black Edward Waters University. The gunman was initially seen near the library on the campus but security guards tried to take him into custody and he escaped. Shortly before the shooting took place, the gunman’s parents called law enforcement to say they had found a manifesto, reported WJXT. The gunman had reportedly called his parents ahead of the attack and told them to look at his computer. Sheriff Waters described those writings as a “disgusting ideology of hate”. He also confirmed that the three victims were Black. The shooter, who had entered the store with an assault rifle covered in swastikas, took his own life. “His sickening ideology is not representative of the values of this Jacksonville community that we all love so much,” the sheriff said, adding that we “reject this inexcusable violence.”