Ukrainian fighter pilots, far fewer than Russian pilots of the same class, have become legendary. Partly thanks to the story about the ace of the Armed Forces nicknamed the Ghost of Kiev.

It is said that this hero shot down as many as 40 enemy planes – an incredible feat in the military arena, where the sky is dominated by Russia.

But now the Ukrainian Air Force Command has warned on Facebook that “The Ghost of Kyiv is a superhero legend whose character was created by Ukrainians.”

“We ask the Ukrainian community not to neglect the basic rules of information hygiene,” the statement said, urging people to “check the sources of information before disseminating it.”

Earlier, 29-year-old Major Stepan Tarabalka was considered a mythical ace pilot. Authorities confirmed that he died in battle on March 13 and was posthumously awarded the Hero of Ukraine Medal.

Now the Air Force emphasizes that “Tarabalka is not the Ghost of Kyiv, and he did not shoot down 40 planes.”

In the Air Force, the Ghost of Kyiv is described as “the collective image of the pilots of the 40th Airborne Tactical Aviation Brigade defending the skies over the capital” and not as a combat record of an individual.

For several weeks, Ukrainians did not know who exactly could be the Ghost of Kyiv, but this did not stop the spread of the legend on social networks.

It was used as a marketing brand by a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturer , and Ukrainian Iryna Kostyrenko displayed a military badge inspired by legend.

The Ministry of Defense posted a video on Twitter celebrating Tarabalka’s heroism.

Military experts told the BBC that they doubted that one pilot could have shot down 40 Russian planes.

Ukrainian military historian Mykhailo Zhyrokhov called the legend of the Phantom of Kyiv “propaganda to lift the spirits.” Speaking to the BBC from Chernihiv, he noted that at the beginning of the war, the Russians dominated Ukrainian airspace, and therefore the Ukrainian pilot “could shoot down only two or three planes.”

“Such propaganda is important, because our armed forces are smaller, and many people think that we cannot match them (Russians. – Ed.). We need it in wartime,” he said.

The fact that Ukrainian pilots still do not allow Russia to establish full control over the sky, although they fly older Russian MiG-29s, inspired this modern legend.

With all its military might, Russia has had more than two months to knock out Ukraine’s air defenses – and it has failed.

Ukrainian authorities nurtured the legend of the Ghost of Kiev in the early days of the war.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) showed the fighter pilot in its telegram and called him an “angel” who protects the Ukrainian sky and has already shot down 10 Russian planes. But the name of the “angel” is not mentioned in the photo, and later the media reported that the photo used was old.

The Ukrainian military expert, who wished to remain anonymous, told the BBC that the legend of the Ghost of Kiev “helped raise morale at a time when people need simple stories.”

The fighting spirit of Ukraine was also enhanced by the story with the cruiser “Moscow”.

Initially, Ukrainian border guards challenged the Russian cruiser. Their defiant response became the slogan of the war and was immortalized on a popular postage stamp.

Then Ukraine sank “Moscow”, the pride of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, lining it up with two Neptune missiles. Russia said there was a fire on board and that the ship sank, but did not recognize the missile attack.

Heroic fighter pilots have entered the national mythology of other countries. The United Kingdom honors the brave Royal Air Force pilots who outwitted the powerful Nazi Luftwaffe in the 1940 Battle of Britain.

And Russia itself glorifies its World War II pilots, whose number was much smaller than that of the Germans. Some of them deliberately crashed into enemy planes, running out of ammunition.

Legends like the Phantom of Kyiv are not surprising when the data on military losses on both sides are so contrasting.

On April 30, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that Russia had lost 190 aircraft and 155 helicopters.

But independent military analysts at Oryx estimate that Russia’s casualties are 26 planes and 39 helicopters, as well as 48 drones.

Both Russia and Ukraine are hiding their losses. It is difficult to calculate, because planes often crash in Russian-controlled territory, and some of them manage to land in Russia.

Experts agree that in many cases, Russian planes were shot down by surface-to-air missiles, primarily portable anti-aircraft missile systems (MANPADS).

Justin Crump of consulting firm Sybilline says the legend of the Phantom of Kyiv is important because nowadays on social media, “people need myths, heroes and legends to help unite and find meaning.”

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