The Ghost of Kyiv has come to be treated by some as a composite character metaphorically representing the actions of the entire Ukrainian air force. The stories were shared by Ukrainians on social media. Many sources consider the Ghost of Kyiv to be an urban legend or war propaganda, and the pilot's alleged existence has been credited as a major morale boost for the Ukrainian population to bolster optimism during the Russian invasion. She emphasized that the Ukrainian government was "capable of having lessons learned" and further expressed the most important thing was that the misinformation was acknowledged and removed. In an interview on June 8, addressing the Ghost of Kyiv myth specifically, Ukrainian government advisor Liubov Tsybulska indicated the importance of avoiding the use of disinformation while acknowledging that mistakes may sometimes happen. Tarabalka was a real pilot who died on 13 March 2022 during air combat and was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine. The statement came after multiple media outlets published stories wrongly identifying Major Stepan Tarabalka as the man behind the moniker. It was acknowledged that he was just a piece of propaganda created to "raise morale at a time when people need simple stories", and warned people to not "neglect the basic rules of information hygiene" and to "check the sources of information, before spreading it". On 30 April 2022, Ukraine's Air Force Command admitted the mythical status of the Ghost of Kyiv, writing that "The ghost of Kyiv is a superhero-legend, whose character was created by Ukrainians," and that "the #GhostOfKyiv is alive, it embodies the collective spirit of the highly qualified pilots". Task & Purpose and The Times of Israel have described the Ghost of Kyiv as a narrative part of Ukraine's resistance. Despite the Russian military having an advantage in its use of information, Ukraine has defended the country's efforts and may have overtaken them using Russia's lack of success.
Reexaminations have characterized the Ghost of Kyiv as a part of a larger " information war" to counter the Russian invasion. Newsweek wrote that the Ghost of Kyiv was "very likely not real, but instead, an imaginary hero designed to bolster Ukrainians' morale in the face of the Russian invasion," adding "there is zero evidence the 'Ghost of Kyiv' exists with Ukrainian authorities not confirming their existence". stated that the Ghost of Kyiv was "almost certainly a myth, albeit an incredibly useful one as Ukraine tries to rally its citizens to resist Russian conquest". The Armed Forces of Ukraine 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!". A day later, however, The Times reported that a Ukrainian military source said the pilot was real and was still alive.
By March 2, official sources had confirmed neither an individual identity nor an official record for the rumored pilot. On 27 February, the Security Service of Ukraine said in a Facebook post that the Ghost of Kyiv had shot down 10 aircraft. The photo was later found to be an unrelated image from a Ministry of Defence post from 2019. įormer Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko posted a tweet of a photograph of a fighter pilot, falsely claiming it to be the Ghost of Kyiv. However, Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi 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. In a tweet, it referred to the Ghost of Kyiv as "the air avenger". The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence claimed that-would the shoot-downs be confirmed-the Ghost of Kyiv could be one of dozens of experienced pilots of military reserve who returned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Russia invaded. If the flying ace had existed, they would have been the first recorded fighter ace of the 21st century. The six planes were reported as two Su-35s, two Su-25s, an Su-27, and an enemy MiG-29. The claim that a MiG-29 pilot of nicknamed the "Ghost of Kyiv" who won six air fights in the skies of Kyiv appeared during the first 30 hours of the invasion. 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 pilot who took down multiple Russian jets.
On 24 February 2022, Russia began a large-scale invasion of Ukraine in an escalation of a pre-existing war between the two countries. Further information: 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, and Timeline of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
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