On Saturday, the Russian Su-25 jet piloted by 34-year-old Major Filipov was downed by a portable air-defense system (MANPAD) missile fired by terrorists in Idlib. An experienced pilot, Filipov, 34, went to great lengths trying to navigate the struck warplane, and managed to report that he had been hit by a missile before he crash-landed.

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The aviator didn’t give up hope, and put up a fight against the militants who were chasing him. Even after terrorists surrounded the heavily wounded Filipov, he was unstoppable. The heroic fighter pilot refused to surrender, and waited until the militants had closed in on him before detonating a grenade.

Far away from the Syrian warzone in Russia’s Voronezh, Filipov is affectionately remembered as a bright little boy who always dreamed of flying. Located some 465 kilometers (289 miles) south of Moscow, it was in this city that the pilot was born in 1984, and where he would grow up. His schoolteacher Galina Klepikova recalls that he was bright and social, and always an optimist.

“He received mostly A grades. His teachers have nothing but good words to describe him,” Klepikova told Regnum news agency. “He dreamed of becoming a pilot.”

“We’re planning to hold lessons in courage in our school and come up… with a memorial for him,” she added.

As he grew up, Filipov fulfilled his dream and graduated from the Krasnodar Military Aviation School. He then served in the Russian Far East, going from senior pilot to deputy commander of the squadron.

In Syria, Filipov had successfully fulfilled dozens of military operations, including eliminating terrorist groups and escorting humanitarian convoys to liberated areas before what would prove to be his final mission. His commanders described Filipov as a promising, calm and resolute attack pilot.

Filipov has now been posthumously awarded the “Hero of Russia” title for courage and heroism, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Earlier, a dramatic video claiming to show Filipov locked in a life-and-death struggle with the terrorists on Saturday, showed armed militants moving in on the site to which the pilot reportedly parachuted. As the militants surround the spot, a voice is heard shouting in Russian “This is for the boys!” It is followed by a bang and a column of smoke is seen rising from behind the rock.