He was a member of the interdepartmental working group on improving the training of flight personnel, ensuring the proper level of technical condition and safety of state aviation aircraft.

[5] He personally supervised the actions of Ukrainian aviation during the joint Ukrainian-American-Polish exercise "Safe Skies 2011" in Myrhorod.

[2] Since 2014, he fought in eastern Ukraine, became ill and after being examined in a military hospital, where he was diagnosed with cancer, was treated in Israel.

[6][7][8] On 30 December 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, taking into account the special services to the Motherland of Lieutenant General Vasyl Nikiforov and taking into account the exemplary performance of tasks by the personnel, decided to name the 299th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of Ukraine after Lieutenant General Vasyl Nikiforov.

[12][13] On 10 February 2016, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, in order to honor the memory of Lieutenant General Vasyl Nikiforov, taking into account his courage and heroism, unbreakable spirit in the struggle for an independent Ukrainian state and taking into account his high professionalism, exemplary performance of assigned tasks by the personnel of the 831st Guards Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of Ukraine, he decided to name the Su-27 aircraft (tail number 50) of the 831st Guards Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of Ukraine after Vasyl Nikiforov.