Ghost of Kyiv

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Ghost of Kyiv
Allegiance Ukraine
Service/branch Ukrainian Air Force
Battles/wars

The Ghost of Kyiv (Ukrainian: Привид Києва, romanized: Pryvyd Kyieva)[1] is the nickname given to a disputed MiG-29 Fulcrum flying ace credited with shooting down six Russian planes over Kyiv during the Kyiv offensive on 24 February 2022. According to the Security Service of Ukraine, he has shot down 10 Russian jets as of 27 February. Although not confirmed to be real, the Ghost of Kyiv has been credited as a morale booster for Ukrainians.

Background and claims

Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 in 2018. A similar plane is credited to the Ghost of Kyiv.

On 24 February 2022, Russia formally invaded Ukraine in an escalation of a pre-existing war between the two countries. During the Kyiv offensive, which began on the first day of the invasion, videos on social media began widely circulating of fighter jets in Ukraine shortly after the invasion started, including claims of a single pilot who took down multiple Russian jets.[2][3] A pilot of a МіG-29, nicknamed the "Ghost of Kyiv" by Ukrainians, was claimed to have won six air fights in the sky of Kyiv during the first 30 hours of the invasion.[1][4] The six planes are reported as two Su-35s, two Su-25s, a Su-27 and a МіG-29.[5][6][7] If the ace does exist, they would be the first recorded fighter ace of the 21st century.[8]

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence claimed that, should the downings be confirmed, the Ghost of Kyiv could be one of dozens of experienced pilots of military reserve who urgently returned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Russia invaded.[9] In a tweet, it referred to the Ghost of Kyiv as "the air avenger".[10] However, in a claim by Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, he said he could only confirm a total of six Russian planes downed on the first day of fighting in Ukraine, though there may have been more.[4]

Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko posted a tweet of a photograph of a fighter pilot, claiming it to be the Ghost of Kyiv, who Poroshenko said was real.[11][12] The photo was later discovered to have been reused from a Ministry of Defence post from 2019 showing a pilot testing a new helmet.[13] On 27 February, the Security Service of Ukraine said in a Facebook post that the Ghost of Kyiv has shot down 10 aircraft.[14] On 3 March, it was reported in The Times that Ukrainian sources confirmed the pilot was real and was still alive.[15] The Ukrainian Armed Forces posted on Facebook of the purported pilot in his helmet with the visor up, with the caption "Hello, occupier, I'm coming for your soul!".[16]

The Ghost of Kyiv has come to be treated by some as a composite character encompassing the actions of the entire Ukrainian air force.[17][18]

Legacy

Fan art of the Ghost of Kyiv by Andriy Dankovych.

Although some sources consider the Ghost of Kyiv to be an urban legend or war propaganda, its status has nevertheless been credited as a major morale boost for the Ukrainian population to bolster optimism in spite of the Russian invasion.[19][2][20] The claims are likely not a deliberate creation,[4] with the stories being shared by regular Ukrainian people on social media before official Ukrainian media accounts alluded to the pilot in a regular update.[10]

Computer-generated footage of the Ghost of Kyiv winning a dogfight was made using the 2013 video game Digital Combat Simulator and uploaded by a YouTube user. The uploader stated in the description that the footage was not real and was merely a tribute urging the Ghost of Kyiv, real or fake, to keep fighting. This video was shared by the official Twitter account of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.[4] The video subsequently went viral on social media, with Snopes saying that the circulating video was miscaptioned.[21][22]

Task & Purpose argued that while it was highly unlikely there were even six air-to-air takedowns in total, given their rarity in the 21st century and Ukraine's strong missile defense, the Ghost of Kyiv was "real enough" as the spirit of the Ukrainians.[19] Tom Demerly of The Aviationist argued that the Ghost of Kyiv is an "example of bizarre distortions ... amplified by the chaos of war".[23]

Similar to the Ghost of Kyiv, on 26 February 2022, social media reports emerged of a Ukrainian ground forces soldier dubbed the "Ukrainian Reaper", who supposedly killed over twenty Russian soldiers in combat alone.[24]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "'Привид Kиєва': Пілот міг-29 за 30 годин здобув 6 повітряних перемог над Окупантом" ['Ghost of Kyiv': Mig-29 Pilot Won 6 Air Victories Over the Occupier in 30 Hours]. 5 Kanal (Ukraine) (in Ukrainian). 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b Miller, Christopher; Koshiw, Isobel; Kiehart, Pete (February 27, 2022). "Stories Of Ukrainian Heroism Are Emerging And Giving The Country Hope". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on February 28, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  3. ^ Miller, Daniel (25 February 2022). "Who is the 'Ghost of Kyiv'? Tale of Ukrainian fighter pilot trends on social media". Fox 2 Detroit. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Van Brugen, Isabel (25 February 2022). "'Ghost of Kyiv' Ukraine fighter pilot becomes the stuff of legend". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  5. ^ "The Ghost of Kyiv, Ukraine's urban legend of a hero ace pilot". Marca. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  6. ^ Nelson, David (25 February 2022). "Ghost of Kyiv: unconfirmed Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot credited with six kills". Diario AS. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Ukrainians call unidentified fighter pilot 'Ghost of Kiev' after dogfight videos surface". The National. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Is 'Ghost of Kyiv' real? Ukrainian military tweets on mystery MiG-29 pilot". The Week. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  9. ^ "До строю авіації... - Міністерство оборони України" [To the air force ... - Ministry of Defense of Ukraine]. Facebook (in Ukrainian). Ministry of Defence (Ukraine). 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Ukraine is boosting morale with the urban legend of the Ghost of Kyiv, a mysterious fighter ace". inews. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Who is the 'Ghost of Kyiv'? The ace pilot giving hope to Ukrainians". WION. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  12. ^ "Former Ukraine president confirms the 'Ghost of Kyiv' is real". MARCA. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Fact check: Ukraine's 'Ghost of Kyiv' fighter pilot". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 1 March 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Легендарний український пілот 'Привид Києва' вже збив 10 російських літаків – СБУ" [Legendary Ukrainian pilot 'Ghost of Kyiv' has already shot down 10 jets - SBU]. 5 Kanal (in Ukrainian). 27 February 2022. Archived from the original on 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  15. ^ Brown, Larisa; Wright, Oliver (2022-03-03). "Underdog Ukrainian pilots fight high-tech Russian adversaries with skill". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-03-11. A Ukrainian military source said that a MiG-29 pilot nicknamed the Ghost of Kyiv, who was claimed to have shot down six Russian planes on the first day of the invasion, was real and was still alive. It was not clear whether he was involved in the dogfight yesterday.
  16. ^ Rose, David (2022-03-11). "Meet the Ghost of Kyiv 'coming for Russia's soul'". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2022-03-11.
  17. ^ Crane, Emily (11 March 2022). "Ukrainian military warns 'Ghost of Kyiv' is 'coming for Russia's soul'". New York Post. Retrieved 12 March 2022. Regardless, the pilot has become a folk hero amid the bloodshed and the term has been adopted to refer to the entire Ukrainian air force.
  18. ^ LW (12 March 2022). "'Ghost of Kyiv' returns and threatens that it is 'coming for Russia's soul'". Marca. Retrieved 12 March 2022. As a result, the term by which this pilot has been called has been adopted to name the entire Ukrainian air force.
  19. ^ a b Keller, Jared (25 February 2022). "'The Ghost of Kyiv' is the first urban legend of Russia's invasion of Ukraine". Task & Purpose. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  20. ^ Bhalla, Abhishek (26 February 2022). "Ghost of Kyiv: A war hero's folklore in Ukraine or propaganda?". India Today. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  21. ^ Gach, Ethan (26 January 2022). "'Ghost Of Kyiv' Fighter Pilot Blowing Up Russian Aircraft In Trending Clip Actually From Video Game". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  22. ^ Evon, Dan (25 February 2022). "Is This 'Ghost of Kyiv' Video Real?". snopes.com. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
  23. ^ Demerly, Tom (25 February 2022). "The 'Ghost of Kyiv', The Missing Mega-Plane, A Rogue Air India flight and a Samurai: Welcome to the Fog of War". The Aviationist. Archived from the original on 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  24. ^ "If you liked the 'Ghost of Kyiv', you will love the 'Ukrainian Reaper'". MARCA. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

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