According to the Times, the mythical pilot of the Ukrainian army, whose very existence is called into question, would be Major Stepan Tarabalka. The Ukrainian Air Force denies the information.
The legend of “ghost of kyiv“, the pilot who had set the Ukrainian sky ablaze, resurfaced. On February 24, the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a mysterious pilot was in the news for shooting down six Russian aircraft. It was then that the legend was born. But at the time, it is impossible to verify his identity, or even his existence. This Friday, April 29, The Times lifts the veil: it would be a Ukrainian pilot who died in combat on March 13th.
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Indeed, according to the Ukrainian authorities quoted by the British daily, the “ghostwould actually be Major Stepan Tarabalka, who died after his Mig-29 was shot down. A death confirmed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on March 25, which announced the death of the major, “heroes of ukraine“, without mentioning a possible link with the”ghost of kyiv“. Ukrainian authorities credit him with more than 40 downed Russian aircraft.
This Saturday, April 30, one day after the publication of the article in Timesthe Ukrainian Air Force denied the information and asked the Ukrainian community not to repeat false information: “Hero of Ukraine Stepan Tarabalka is NOT the “ghost of Kyiv” and he did NOT hit 40 planes“, is it written in a Facebook publication signed by the public relations department of the command of the Ukrainian air force. “The ghost of kyiv is a superhero/legend whose character was created by Ukrainians!“, is it further specified. The army effectively confirms the death of Major Stepan Tarabalka, killed “heroically“March 13, 2022”in an air battle against the dominant forces of the Russian occupiers“, but maintains that the latter is not the ghost of kyiv.
The 29-year-old, married with one child, was posthumously awarded the Order of the Gold Star medal, Ukraine’s highest honor for bravery in battle, as well as the title of Hero of Ukraine. The Times reports the words of the parents of the pilot, who explain in an interview granted a few days after the death of their son that they had no information as to the context of his death. “We know he was flying on a mission. And he accomplished his mission, his task. Then he didn’t come back. That’s all we have for information, really.“, they explain before talking about the times when, “whenever he had the chance, he would fly near our house and do a little aerobatic trick. And everyone in the village, every house and all the surrounding villages knew that it was Stepan who was stealing“. The Ukrainian sources contacted by The Times specified that his helmet and glasses would soon be put up for auction in London, without giving further details.
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The “ghost of kyiv“, finds its origin in a tweet from former President Petro Poroshenko who shared on February 25 the photo of a face hidden under a helmet, with the mention: “The Ghost of Kyiv“, who “terrifies enemies and makes Ukraine proud“. But the publication of this same photo long before the Russian invasion on the twitter account of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in 2019 raised many questions. The same observation regarding the video of a fighter plane shared by the ministry, which, according to Reuters, was actually taken from a video game. On March 11, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army published on its Facebook account a new photo of the “ghoston the way to chase down the Russian invader. Despite the lingering doubts around this pilot, Ukrainian sources “remained adamant» as to «authenticityof the pilot, had nevertheless affirmed the Times in his article published this Friday, April 29.
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