Identity of Ukrainian fighter jet pilot "Ghost of Kyiv" revealed after he died in battle

Hsmilitarycom: A fighter jet pilot from Ukraine known as the urban legend "Ghost of Kyiv", has now been revealed his identity after he was killed in combat last month and brought down at least 40 Russian fighter jets in his record.

He is identified as Major Stepan Tarabalka, a 29-year-old father of one. He is now revered as a Ukrainian war hero.

British media said that Tarabalka, who was flying a MiG-29 fighter jet, was shot down on March 13 while fighting a large number of Russian fighter jets.

According to his family quoted by the Times, the MiG-29 fighter jet pilot was posthumously awarded Ukraine's highest medal for bravery in combat, the Golden Star Order. He was also given the title of Hero of Ukraine.

Tarabalka's parents said the Ukrainian military did not provide them with any information about her last flight or her death.

"We know he flew on a mission, and he completed the mission, the task. Then he didn't come back. That's the only information we have," Tarabalka's father and mother said.

Tarabalka gained worldwide fame, especially on social media, after she shot down 10 Russian fighter jets on the first day of Russian military operations.

According to the Times, Tarabalka was born into a working-class family in a small village called Korolivka, western Ukraine, and has wanted to be a pilot since she was a child.

With the disclosure of his identity, now the urban legend of the Ghost of Kyiv officially became the history of the Ukrainian war.