Drunk Ukrainian Air Force Officer Crashes Volkswagen Into MiG-29 Fighter

A captain from the Ukrainian Air Force reportedly crashed a Volkswagen Touran car into a MiG-29 fighter while inebriated with alcohol, causing a fire and significantly damaging the aircraft. The Ukrainian Air Force's Air Command Central publicly announced the details on March 10, 2021, with the first images surfacing on March 12th. The MiG-29 was being towed at the time of the accident, with the Touran slamming into the rear of the fighter which caused serious damage to the aircraft’s right engine exhaust nozzle and its tail fin and rear stabiliser. Other parts of the fighter were charred from the subsequent fire. The crash occurred at Vasylkiv Air Base in central Ukraine, which is home to the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade. 

Alcohol abuse has been a serious issue for the Ukrainian Military for decades. Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon in 2014 quoted a volunteer fighting alongside the country's armed forces stating: "our first enemy is separatists and Russian mercenaries, the second one is Ukrainian high command, the third one is alcohol, it is almost impossible to fight against it." A government advisor described personnel mobilised in 2014-2015 for war in Eastern Ukraine as "alcoholics and [draft] dodgers, drug addicts and morons." The Air Force has notably faced a problem with crashes, particularly for the heavier more complex Su-27 fighters it fields.

The Ukrainian Air Force formerly fielded one of the largest air fleets in the world, with over 500 fighters and several long range strategic bombers operational at the beginning of the 1990s, but it today fields only an estimated 85 fighter jets all of which were inherited from the Soviet Union after the superpower’s collapse. These include 37 MiG-29 aircraft, which are older MiG-29A airframes built in the Soviet Union that use significantly older materials, armaments, sensors and avionics than modern variants such as the MiG-29M. The Ukrainian Air Force also fields two of the heaviest combat aircraft in Europe, including 34 Su-27 Flanker air superiority fighters and 14 Su-24M strike fighters. Their age however, and their lack of modern armaments or substantial upgrades, has seriously restricted their ability to engage the much more modern aircraft fielded by neighbouring Soviet successor states Russia and Belarus such as the Su-30SM. Some reports have indicated that Ukraine may purchase new fighters from China, names the JL-10 fighter/trainer lightweight aircraft which has much lower operational costs and more modern avionics than the aircraft currently in service. Considerable Western influence over Ukraine since 2014, however, has made such a deal less likely meaning its Soviet era air fleet is expected to be relied on for many more years to come.