Ghost of Kyiv

[16] The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence claimed that—would the shoot-downs be confirmed—the Ghost of Kyiv could be one of the dozens of experienced pilots of the military reserve who returned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Russia invaded.

[12] Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko posted a tweet of a photograph of a fighter pilot, falsely claiming it to be the Ghost of Kyiv.

[30] In early 2024, Ukraine Ground Forces spokesperson Illia Yevlash, admitted that the pilot is fictional and was created by his team after Ukrainian Force showed repeated ability to down Russian planes : The spokesperson for the Eastern UAF Group, Serhiy Cherevat pointing out it « create[d] the image of an avenger, a national hero, a flying ace destroying the enemy aircraft ».

[2][5][6] The statement came after multiple media outlets published stories wrongly identifying Major Stepan Tarabalka as the man behind the moniker.

[31] 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.

[33] Despite the Ghost of Kyiv being an urban legend or instance of war propaganda, the pilot's alleged existence has been credited as a major morale boost for the Ukrainian population by bolstering optimism during the Russian invasion.

[36][37] Computer-generated footage of the Ghost of Kyiv winning a dogfight was made using the 2013 video game Digital Combat Simulator and uploaded by a YouTube user.

[42] Task & Purpose argued that while it was highly unlikely there were even six air-to-air takedowns in total, given their rarity in the 21st century and Ukraine's strong missile defense, the Ghost of Kyiv was "real enough" as the spirit of the Ukrainians.