The Times later updated its story to reflect the air force's new position on the Ghost of Kyiv. That same day, Ukraine's Security Service, the SBU, shared the same old photo on Telegram - but now claiming he had shot down 10 occupying planes.īy the time news outlets, including the Times of London, falsely identified the pilot as Tarabalka on Friday, reports had increased the ghost's toll to 40 planes. And rightly so - this UAF ace dominates the skies over our capital and country, and has already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts." Two days later, Ukraine's official Twitter account shared a video including the same picture, along with footage of fighter jets in combat, set to pulsating music, with the caption: "People call him the Ghost of Kyiv. 25, former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko tweeted a photo that Ukraine's Ministry of Defence had shared three years earlier, falsely claiming it showed the Ghost of Kyiv, who had taken down six Russian pilots.
#Ace fighter pilot simulator#
Memes, unrelated photos, and even footage from a flight simulator video game circulated on social media, claiming to show the Ghost of Kyiv during combat. 24, as social media users began to spread claims, without evidence, of an anonymous fighter pilot who had single-handedly taken down multiple Russian planes. The official, confirmed number is 75 kills. So he holds the title All time Allied Ace of Aces. The legend emerged just a day after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. The French René Fonck was the Top Allied fighter ace in WWI and also he scored the most Allied kills in WWI and WWII combined. "The #GhostOfKyiv is alive, it embodies the collective spirit of the highly qualified pilots of the Tactical Aviation Brigade who are successfully defending #Kyiv and the region." 'A nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts' "The information about the death of the The Ghost of #Kyiv is incorrect," Ukraine's air force wrote in a separate post Saturday on Twitter. Tarabalka was a real pilot who died on March 13 during air combat and was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said last month.īut he was not the Ghost of Kyiv, the force said in Saturday's statement. The statement came after multiple media outlets published stories wrongly identifying Major Stepan Tarabalka as the man behind the moniker. "The Ghost of Kyiv is a super-hero legend whose character was created by Ukrainians!" Ukraine's air force said in Ukrainian on Facebook. The tales began just days into the war and circulated for months, bolstered by official Ukrainian accounts.īut on Saturday, Ukrainian authorities admitted that the legendary pilot was a myth.
25, 2022.On social media, the "Ghost of Kyiv" was a military hero, an ace fighter pilot hailed for supposedly shooting down multiple Russian planes. Russia continued its attack on Ukraine on Feb. Get the latest updates in the Russia-Ukraine conflict with The Post’s live coverage.Īs one Twitter user pointed out, such a kill count would stretch the ammunition capacity of the Soviet-era MiG-29. MIG-29 fighter aircrafts fly at a military air base in Vasylkiv, Ukraine REUTERS/Gleb Garanich Soldiers look at the debris of a military plane that was shot down overnight in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Feb. The reports remain unconfirmed by Ukrainian officials - and the rumor is very likely false. The war remains rife with misinformation and propaganda, and a video purporting to be evidence of the Ghost turned out to instead be from a video game.Īccording to one widely circulated post, the Ghost of Kyiv supposedly shot down four Russian fighter jets - two Su-35 Flankers, one Su-27 Flanker and one MiG-29 Fulcrum - as well as two ground-attack aircraft, so-called Su-25 Frogfoots. Supposedly downing as many as six Russian planes in the first day of combat, the Ghost of Kyiv - and their MiG-29 Fulcrum - quickly became a folk hero in a war breathlessly watched online.
Navy's Fighter Weapons School, better known as TOPGUN, and commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 126 (VF-126), a shore-based adversary squadron at NAS Miramar, California. Navy's only pilot ace of that war, Cunningham became an instructor at the U.S. Unconfirmed reports of an ace Ukrainian fighter pilot have gone viral, with social media users dubbing the fighter the “Ghost of Kyiv.” Following the Vietnam War, during which he became the U.S.
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