As you've no doubt heard by now, Russian military forces invaded Ukraine yesterday and are currently fighting outside the capital city of Kyiv. So far, fighting has reportedly taken the lives of 137 Ukrainians and injured hundreds more.
But amidst the tragedy of the largest armed invasion of a European nation since World War 2 comes a ray of hope. The so-called "Ghost of Kyiv," a Ukrainian fighter pilot who has since become the world's first "ace" since The Great War.
According to Ukrainian blogger Sergey Naumovich (via Channel 5 News), the Ghost of Kyiv is a Ukrainian Mig-29 pilot "who in 30 hours won six air victories over Russian forces," shooting down two Su-35s, one Su-27, a Russian Mig-29, and two Su-25s. Footage posted below the text shows a Ukrainian Mig-29 shooting down a Russian fighter jet with an infrared homing missile.
The story of the Ghost of Kyiv has since been picked up by mainstream news outlets and is making the rounds on social media, often with colorful images showing support for the Ghost of Kyiv. However, some are questioning whether the Ghost of Kyiv actually exists.
A post on the Ace Combat subreddit alleges that the Ghost of Kyiv may have been fabricated by a War Thunder content creator. TheScottishKoala seems to be the first person to post about the Ghost of Kyiv yesterday at around noon (Update: the footage used in this tweet comes from Digital Combat Simulator, according to Snopes), almost 24 hours before the story was even picked up by Ukrainian news sources. This seems to have started a social media movement under the hashtag #ghostofkyiv, with several artists depicting the Ghost's plane and tail art.
However, ScottishKoala later admitted that he may have "jumped on this too quickly without enough evidence," explaining he didn't expect the Ghost of Kyiv to blow up as large as it did. He sent out a request for concrete info on social media but has yet to receive anything confirming the existence of the Ukrainian fighter.
Several hours after ScottishKoala's initial post, Aviation Weekly defense editor Steve Trimble told Twitter to "just ignore" reports of a Ukrainian fighter ace and even expressed doubts that such a feat is even possible on the modern battlefield. Trimble later deleted that tweet, writing, “Ok, the dreamers win this one. I’ll delete and let you think whatever you like about the rumored prowess of a certain Ukrainian Mig-29 pilot.”
Trimble’s doubt and a lack of evidence from ScottishKoala haven’t stopped the Ghost of Kyiv from being circulated widely on both social media and actual news outlets. As multiple replies in the Ace Combat Reddit thread plainly state, people want to believe in the Ghost of Kyiv. And maybe we should; Ukraine could definitely use a hero in its darkest hour.
They might very well be out defending the skies of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said on Facebook that the Ghost could be any number of “dozens of experienced pilots” currently defending their country.
"Who knows, maybe one of them and is that air avenger on Mig-29 which is so often seen by kiyani!"
If you'd like to give directly to Ukrainians displaced due to the conflict, consider giving to the International Red Cross through these links.
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