A Ukrainian jet fighter pilot who has earned the nickname the “Ghost of Kyiv” has become the newest folk hero in Ukraine for becoming the ...
A Ukrainian jet fighter pilot who has earned the nickname the “Ghost of Kyiv” has become the newest folk hero in Ukraine for becoming the first ace pilot in the 21st century by downing six Russian warplanes.
On Friday, social media users began sharing clips of a MiG 29 jet flying over the country’s capital city:
An official ace fighter pilot must have five confirmed cases of downing an enemy plane. If the stories are true, the Ghost has become the “first European ace since World War II.”
There is no way to confirm that the Ghost is actually a single Ukrainian fighter jet standing guard against Russian tyranny. And the whole story may simply be the first major urban legend coming out of Russia’s unprovoked attack on its neighboring country.
However, despite the inability to confirm the story, the Ghost is bolstering Ukraine’s morale in the face of Russian warmongering.
Perhaps lending credence to the tale, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said in a Thursday Facebook that his forces have counted six Russian planes and two helicopters destroyed to date, according to Newsweek.
A Twitter site claiming to represent Ukraine’s armed forces later shared a video that purported to show a Ukrainian MiG-29 downing a Russian jet in a dogfight.
Others, though, immediately claimed that the video was faked, and at least one social media user said it was made using a digital combat simulator.
Needless to say, there is just no way to confirm the existence of this new folk hero, nor is there even a way to fully determine how many Russian and Ukrainian aircraft have been destroyed in a conflict that is only days old. It may be weeks before the true toll is known.
But that hasn’t stopped the millions of people who dearly hope that the Ghost of Kyiv really does exist. The episode also seems to be showing just how unpopular Russia has become as a symbol of violence and aggression.
Regardless, millions across the world are cheering the Ghost on:
‘Ghost of Kyiv’ inspires hope of Ukrainian resistance as Russian planes downed https://t.co/lUwMIjJikw pic.twitter.com/tO5dNTMGQW
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) February 25, 2022
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