Photo: Hristo Rusev / Getty Images
The legendary fighter pilot nicknamed “The Ghost of kyiv” was killed in battle after Ukraine claimed he shot down 40 Russian fighter planes during the war.
The brave fighter became popular at the beginning of Putin’s invasion when the Ukrainian military shared an image of him claiming he shot down 6 Russian planes.
A fighter pilot known as the Ghost of Kyiv died in an air battle last month after allegedly shooting down more than 40 Russian aircraft https://t.co/UCe1dS1iog— The Times (@thetimes) April 29, 2022
The Major Stepan Tarabalka, of 29 years old, father of one, died on 13 March while fighting “overwhelming” enemy forces, the Times reported.
Ukrainian sources confirmed the identity and his death and added that they expected his helmet and goggles to go on sale at auction in London.
The young man from 29 years from the village of Korolivka in western Ukraine has left behind his wife Olenia and their eight-year-old son Yarik.
He was posthumously awarded Ukraine’s highest medal for bravery in combat, the Order of the Golden Star, with the title of Hero of Ukraine.
In March, the Ukrainian military shared a snapshot showing a person wearing an oxygen mask in the cockpit of a MiG-29, with the legend “Hello, occupant, I’m coming for your soul!”.
The so-called Ghost of kyiv became a symbol of resistance against Vladimir Putin’s invasion after Ukrainian government officials shared propaganda of the masked pilot appearing to shoot down enemy planes.
The images supposedly showed the MiG-plane 29 flying through the air before destroying six Kremlin planes on the first day Putin launched his war.
The official account of the Ukrainian government published a video of 38 seconds on his social media on February 27 and wrote, “People call him the Phantom of kyiv.
“And rightly so: this UAF ace dominates the skies of our capital and our country, and has already become a nightmare for the invading Russian planes.”
The footage begins with a cartoon mock-up of the plane, before moving on to debunked footage of a destroyed Russian plane.
Then a text appears in the video, which reads: “Ukraine probably got its first ace since WWII. This is the anonymous pilot of the MiG-29, nicknamed the Ghost of kyiv.
“In the first 29 hours of the Russian invasion in February 2022 shot down six Russian military aircraft.
“Al 26 February, others 10 military aircraft of the occupants. To become an ace pilot, you need to shoot down five planes and the Phantom of kyiv shot down twice as many.”
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