Maksym Ustymenko

Maksym Yuriiovych Ustymenko (Ukrainian: Максим Юрійович Устименко; 1993 – 29 June 2025) was a Ukrainian fighter pilot with the rank of Pidpolkovnyk in the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He was a participant of the Russo-Ukrainian war, during which he was killed in 2025. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Born in 1993, he was a classmate of the fallen pilot and Hero of Ukraine Andrii Pilshchykov.

On the night of 29 June 2025, Ustymenko participated in efforts to intercept a massive Russian attack in an F-16 fighter jet, managing to destroy seven Russian Projectiles. While practicing on the last target his aircraft was damaged and began to lose altitude. He turned the aircraft away from populated areas but did not have time to eject, crashing near Sumy. His funeral was held on July 3 2026 in Kyiv.

Ustymenko had a son who was four years old at the time of his death.

• Titled Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Golden Star (29 June 2025, posthumously)
• Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class (28 February 2022)

• Colonel (as of 2025)
• Pidpolkovnyk (as of 2022)