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Authorities in Ukraine have proudly distributed unconfirmed reports of a professional pilot of their fleet now known as the “Kiev Ghost”, in a bid to boost morale, amid a bitter military confrontation with Russia. the British daily Metro.co.uk
Rumors spread on social networks and media suggest that the lone, unnamed pilot shot down several Russian fighters, and in some of the images even appears to be flying a MiG-29 aircraft over Ukrainian cities.
But it is not yet known if this is real news or an “urban legend”.
So far unfounded allegations have circulated online as Russia launched its military offensive against Ukraine earlier this week.
According to one of the most scattered but still unverified posts, the master pilot shot down two Russian SU-35 fighters, one SU-27, one MiG-29, and two SU-25s.
In the common language of military aviation it is accepted that a pilot who shoots down five or more enemy aircraft can be called ‘neither’.
The claims of the ‘Kiev Ghost’ sound like something out of Hollywood movies and have been accompanied by alleged footage of the pilot in action.
But they have been rejected by the internet fact-checking network Snopeswho says that “are not real images of the Ghost of Kiev”.
Snopes says that one of the videos used to illustrate the pilot was created with the program ‘Digital Combat Simulator’, a war simulation game that was first published in 2008, writes the British Metro.
Even the video posted initially admitted that it was created as an illustration “in homage to the Kiev Phantom”, but with the wide distribution it received, the explanatory comment was lost and it was considered true.
Ukrainian forces claim to have shot down five Russian fighter jets and a helicopter, but claims have been disputed by the Russian defense ministry.
Whether the Kiev Fatanzma is true or an urban legend has captured the imagination of Ukrainians and is already being used by officials to boost morale in the face of Russia.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense seems to be using the legend to reinforce the image of its air force.
In a comment praising the reserve pilots, the ministry dismissed: “Who knows, maybe one of them is the air avenger with the MiG-29, which is seen so often by the residents of Kiev! ‘
In another post the ministry shared disputed footage of the war in the air as Ukrainians embraced the stories in this moment of need.
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