MiG-15 fighter jet replica installed in Polotsk Cadet School in memory of Belarus’ heroes

A solemn opening ceremony of a MiG-15 aircraft exhibit took place at premises of the Polotsk Cadet School. The event was timed to the fifth anniversary since the death of Heroes of Belarus Nikita Kukonenko and Andrei Nichiporchik, the educational institution told BelTA.

The full-size MiG-15 aircraft was delivered from the museum of the 116th Guards Assault Air Base where Hero of Belarus, Guards Lieutenant Nikita Kukonenko served. Belarusian Defense Minister, Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin presented the certificate for the installation of the aircraft as he visited the school in December 2025.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Commander of the Air Force and Air Defense Command of Belarus’ Armed Forces, Major General Andrei Lukyanovich said that this is not just an aircraft, it is a reminder to every cadet that a young man studied within the walls of this school whose name is inscribed in golden letters in the history of the Republic of Belarus forever. “He will always remain in our memory strong and noble. To a large extent this is an accomplishment of his parents, especially his mother. Within the walls of the cadet school he not only shaped the path to his dream and learned sciences but also honed his character, which he fully demonstrated in the sky over Baranovichi. Exactly five years ago, on a similar bright day in May, the pilots Andrei Nichiporchik and Nikita Kukonenko sacrificed themselves to steer the falling aircraft away from residential buildings. The guys did not just die. They gave life to others at the cost of their own. This feat accomplished in peacetime only confirms that the Belarusian land gives birth to people for whom the concepts of ‘Motherland’ and ‘honor’ are not just words but the meaning of life,” Andrei Lukyanovich noted.

The opening ceremony was attended by Natalya Sivukhina, the mother of Hero of Belarus, Guards Lieutenant Nikita Kukonenko, as well as by military personnel and students.

Five thuja trees were planted on the grounds of the cadet school on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the death of Belarus’ heroes. Apart from that, participants of the event laid flowers at the monument to Nikita Kukonenko located on the grounds of the educational institution and students marched past it in a solemn procession. On the same day a mural in honor of Nikita Kukonenko was unveiled on the wall of a multi-story building where the hero used to live.