A picture purportedly showing the ‘Ghost of Kyiv,’ a mysterious pilot who supposedly single-handedly brought down ten Russian military planes, has been posted by Ukraine troops. Since Russian President Vladimir Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine in February, the anonymous warrior has become a great urban legend. CNN claimed on February 24 that the Ukrainian Army’s Military Command verified the shooting down of five fighter planes and one helicopter, however, the Russian military refuted the reports. No one has been able to determine whether the reports are accurate, and while the most recent photograph hasn’t been officially validated either, it has fuelled people’s faith in the existence of the Ghost of Kyiv.
The photograph depicts a pilot, dubbed the “Ghost of Kyiv,” wearing a helmet and oxygen helmet and sitting in the cockpit of a MiG-29 fighter plane, gesturing at missiles mounted on the bottom of the wings. It is subtitled, “Hello, occupier, I’m arriving for your soul!” Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine two weeks ago, stories of the “Ghost” have multiplied. According to reports, a single fighter pilot is accountable for the taking down of ten Russian aircraft, an astounding performance for the alone entity.
However, in the early stages of the war, the Ukrainian Ministry of defense mentioned an ‘air avenger’ observed in Kyiv in a social media post. Reactions on the video were optimistic and hopeful of a Ukrainian win, with people writing things like “Russia can flee, but the spirit of Kyiv will haunt them,” “Legend,” and “Glory to Ukraine.” The ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ is observed in the first footage delivering a characteristic hand gesture from the cockpit as they taxi down the runway. The ‘tiger claw’ motion made by the pilot is identical to the indications employed by US fighter pilots after taking off.
The picture description identifies the aircraft like an F-16 from North Carolina’s 79th Fighter Squadron in 2011. The ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ pilots a separate fighter plane, a MiG-29. However, the aircraft in this video appears to be an F-16. Finally, it was determined that it’s nothing more than an epic fiction concocted to keep waning dreams alive.