Who was the Ghost of Kyiv? An invention of Ukraine to rally the country

The invasion of Ukraine marked a turning period in modern history that saw the return of large-scale war on the European continent. In the early weeks of the invasion, the world was reminded of both the devastation and heroism of war. 

While Moscow’s soldiers shelled cities and pushed to the very outskirts of Kyiv, the eyes of the world were glued to stories about the brave Ukrainians who fought against what was being thrown at them as they stopped Russia cold. 

One of the early heroes of the invasion was a pilot who became known as the Ghost of Kyiv. This ‘Ghost’ pilot spent the early days and weeks of the war defending the skies of Ukraine and helped halt the advance to capture Kyiv, or so the legend went. 

A MiG-29 pilot, the Ghost of Kyiv’s myth began when the world started sharing stories of the pilots' victories in the sky. It was said within the first thirty hours of the war, the Ghost shot down at least six air targets, the Kyiv Post reported.

“This pilot was said to have taken out two Su-35 aircraft, two Su-25 aircraft, a Su-27 aircraft, and one MiG-29,” wrote Kyiv Post’s Maryna Shashkova. The Ghost’s legend grew as the war went on and they racked up forty kills. 

The identity of the Ghost of Kyiv was never revealed but there were always rumors that he was Ukrainian airman and ‘Hero of Ukraine’ Stepan Tarabalka, who was killed in action back on March 13th, 2022 while defending the skies of Ukraine. 

However, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat was adamant at the time that Tarabalka was not the Ghost of Kyiv, telling reporters at the time that the Ghost of Kyiv was more than just a single person but rather all of the country’s pilots. 

“The Ghost of Kyiv is alive and embodies a collective image of the highly qualified pilots of the tactical aviation brigade successfully defending Kyiv and the surrounding region,” Ihnat explained according to The Times of London. 

Ihnat’s comments would turn out to be more true than anyone at the time realized since the Ghost of Kyiv was a hero developed by Ukraine to rally the country in a moment of need according to Ground Forces spokesperson Illia Yevlash. 

The world has known since April 2022 that the Ghost of Kyiv was a fiction developed by the Ukrainian Air Force after it was revealed the legend was invented by the country in a post across the Ukrainian Air Force’s social media pages. 

"Ghost of Kyiv is a superhero-legend whose character was created by Ukrainians!" the post read according to BBC News. The message confirmed that Tarabalka and the Ghost was "a collective image of pilots of the Air Force's 40th tactical aviation brigade.”

However, Yevlash’s comments to Ukrainian media in mid-February provided details on exactly how the myth of the Ghost of Kyiv was created by Ukraine. It was Yevlash’s team that was behind the legend. 

According to Yevlash, the country’s aviation victories brought up the idea of creating a “create the image of an avenger, a national hero, a flying ace destroying the enemy aircraft.” This idea was prompted by Eastern Forces spokesperson Serhiy Cherevaty.

“During a brainstorming session, it seems to me that Volodymyr Fityo (Ukrainian Ground Forces Spokesperson) suggested calling him ‘The Ghost of Kyiv.’ Everyone supported the idea,” Yevlash explained to Ukrainform according to the Kyiv Post’s translation. 

“Later the news agencies, the United News Telemarathon spread the info. We wrote a post about him twice, and then ‘The Ghost’ began to live his own life,” Yevlash added. But it is important to remember that even though the Ghost of Kyiv was a fiction, Ukraine's air victories were real. 

Maryna Shashkova pointed out that the Ukrainian Air Force really did shoot down six enemy aircraft in the first thirty hours of the war, which makes the concept of the Ghost of Kyiv being a collective myth an even more compelling story.