‘Ghost of Kyiv’ warfare hero dies in battle after capturing down 40 Russian plane

A Ukrainian fighter pilot often known as the Ghost of Kyiv was killed in battle final month after reportedly capturing down as many as 40 Russian plane, The Times reported.

After his dying, the identification of the mysterious airman was revealed as Major Stepan Tarabalka, 29. According to media experiences, he was killed when the MiG-29 he was flying was shot down on March 13 whereas preventing “overwhelming” enemy forces.

Tarabalka was hailed as a “guardian angel” by Ukrainians after the federal government credited him with taking down six Russian planes on the primary day of the warfare. At that point, his identification was nonetheless below wraps. Perhaps because of the aura surrounding him, he turned a fabled and enigmatic determine the Ghost of Kyiv.

“People call him the Ghost of Kyiv. And rightly so,” the official tweet by the Ukrainian authorities mentioned, including that he had “already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircraft.”

People name him the Ghost of Kyiv. And rightly so — this UAF ace dominates the skies over our capital and nation, and has already grow to be a nightmare for invading Russian aircrafts. pic.twitter.com/lngfaMN01I

— Ukraine / (@Ukraine) February 27, 2022

Ukraine’s General Staff later tweeted one other image of the ace fighter pilot within the cockpit of his MiG-29 jet along with his face coated, captioned, “Hello, occupier, I’m coming for your soul!”

READ | Ghost of Kyiv: A warfare hero’s folklore in Ukraine or propaganda?

Major Tarabalka was posthumously awarded Ukraine’s high medal for bravery in fight, the Order of the Golden Star, with the title Hero of Ukraine. He is survived by his spouse Olenia and eight-year-old son Yarik.

According to The Times, Major Tarabalka and was born within the small village of Korolivka in western Ukraine to a working-class household. He had needed to be a pilot since he was a small baby, as he used to see fighter jets zooming within the sky over his village.

Major Tarabalka’s mother and father mentioned the Ukrainian navy wouldn’t give them any particulars of his ultimate flight or his dying. “We know he was flying on a mission. And he completed the mission, his task. Then he didn’t return. That’s all the information we have,” his father Evon informed the media.

Many had questioned whether or not the Ghost of Kyiv was actual, questioning if he was a morale-boosting fable spawned by the Ukrainian authorities. Even Tarabalka’s mother and father had been unaware of his covert standing. Sadly, it was solely after his dying that the world found the reality. Though the person is gone, his legend will endure.