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Ukraine officials exorcise 'GHOST OF KYIV', call it 'superhero legend' created by the public

Several news portals claimed Stephan Tarabalka, killed in an air combat on March 13, to be the 'Ghost of Kyiv'

Several news outlets identified Major Stepan Tarabalka, a 29-year-old dad who was recently killed in battle, as the legendary fighter pilot 'Ghost of Kyiv'. But Ukrainian military officials have debunked these claims, stating that the 'Ghost of Kyiv' was merely a legend created by the people of Ukraine.

Ukraine's Air Force Command wrote on Facebook, "Ghost of Kyiv is a superhero-legend whose character was created by Ukrainians! This is a faster-collected image of pilots of the 40th Air Force tactical aviation brigade, who protect the sky of the capital. What suddenly appear where they are not expected!"

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It further read, "Hero of Ukraine Stepan Tarabalka is NOT 'Ghost of Kyiv' and he did NOT hit 40 planes. On March 13, 2022, Major Stepan Tarabalka was heroically killed in an air battle with the dominant forces of the Russian occupiers." The post mentioned, "Once again, we ask the Ukrainian community NOT to neglect the basic rules of information hygiene, not to issue the desired one valid, to check the sources of information, before spreading it."

The official Twitter account tweeted, "The information about the death of the The Ghost of #Kyiv is incorrect. The #GhostOfKyiv is alive, it embodies the collective spirit of the highly qualified pilots of the Tactical Aviation Brigade who are successfully defending #Kyiv and the region."

Tarabalka, according to the myth, had supposedly taken out as many as 40 Russian aircraft until he was killed in an air combat on March 13. But while he was a war hero, he was not the 'Ghost of Kyiv' as no such person actually exists. Though this myth has been debunked by the Ukraine's military officials, the official Ukrainian Twitter account had taken part in promoting and perpetuating the myth of the brave Ukrainian war hero and fighter pilot called the 'Ghost of Kyiv' a while ago.

"People call him the Ghost of Kyiv. And rightly so — this UAF ace dominates the skies over our capital and country, and has already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts," the official Ukraine account had tweeted in February.

One user wrote, "I wish people could simply understand the value of storytelling, myth and legend without it needing to be explained. I believe in the ghost of Kyiv and you should too!" Another said, "The ghost of Kyiv lives," along with an art of the myth-legend. A third felt, "The Spirit of Kyiv - is to live, to live. We take the sky for freedom, our brave pilots fiercely vanquishing invaders so that Ukrainians may No MORE be killed. The Spirit lives on."