Among the artifacts of the Russian-Ukrainian war displayed at the Museum’s open-air site, a prominent place is held by the wreckage of a Su-24M frontline bomber bearing the Ukrainian trident on its wing.
In the autumn of 2022, during the impressive counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, museum staff set out on an expedition across the newly liberated Kharkiv and Donetsk regions to document this historic moment for the entire nation. On the road from Izium in Kharkiv region, their attention was drawn to an unusual silhouette in a field of unharvested grain. It turned out to be the remains of a Ukrainian Su-24. The first exhibits collected during that mission included a section of the fuselage, onboard instruments, and a parachute.
The museum team soon traced the fate of the crew, members of the 7th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — pilot Oleksii Kovalenko and navigator Serhii Verbytskyi. From the very start of russia’s full-scale invasion, these Ukrainian aviators carried out 13 successful combat missions. They struck enemy targets in Hostomel (Kyiv region), as well as in Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Donetsk regions.
On March 22, 2022, their Su-24M set out on a combat mission near Izium, successfully striking a russian military column. Sadly, on the return flight, the aircraft was shot down. The navigator managed to eject, but his comrade could not. Serhii sustained multiple injuries and a concussion, but survived and reached the evacuation point, not knowing the fate of his fellow airman. For a time, due to the temporary russian occupation of parts of Kharkiv region, Major Oleksii Kovalenko was listed as missing in action. Only after the successful Kharkiv counteroffensive in September 2022 was his body found and buried by local residents. Later, he was reinterred with honors in the city of Starokostiantyniv, Khmelnytskyi region. In 2023, both Serhii Verbytskyi and Oleksii Kovalenko (posthumously) were awarded the title “Hero of Ukraine.” To honor the memory of the fallen pilot, Oleksii’s family donated his personal belongings to the Museum.
The story, however, did not end there. For more than two years, the wreckage of the bomber remained near Izium, until it drew the attention of an officer of the 10th Army Corps, Viacheslav Skoryk, who succeeded in rallying supporters, including long-standing friends and partners of the Museum — Nova Poshta and the Come Back Alive Foundation. With their combined efforts, and with direct assistance from the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the aircraft was transported to Kyiv.
Today, as our nation once again fights for freedom and independence against its age-old adversary, artifacts like this serve the younger generation and all future Ukrainians as a powerful example of duty, sacrifice, and the centuries-long struggle for sovereignty and statehood.