Who is 'Ghost of Kyiv'? Lone Ukrainian Fighter Jet Downs Six Russian War Planes? Dubious Theory Surfaces on Social Media

Hours after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, social media was flooded with 'Ghost of Kyiv' in reference to a Ukrainian MIG-29 who allegedly shot down Russian war planes on Thursday. The posts carried image of a fighter plane flying over concrete tower blocks of housing with grey skies in the backdrop.

On Thursday Ukraine claimed to have shot down six Russian warplanes, including a helicopter, over the eastern Luhansk region. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces made the claim, even as the Russian authorities denied it.

Is Ghost of Kyiv a Reality?

Calling the Ukrainian invasion a 'special military operation', Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that the decision was made in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kyiv regime for eight years." He also claimed that Moscow does not plan to occupy Ukrainian territories.

The chatter related to the 'Ghost of Kyiv' started on Thursday after the reports of Russian warplanes being shot down. Marca reported that a fighter ace is a pilot who somehow manages to down at least 6 enemy planes.

Even though there was no official statement to confirm whether the rumors doing rounds of social media regarding the number of enemy aircrafts shot down by the single Ukrainian jet are true or not, multiple social media posts claims that the 'Ghost of Kyiv' brought down two SU-35s, one SU-27, one MIG-29 and two SU-25s from the Russian air fleet.

'Ghost of Kyiv' Rattles Social Media

The concept took over social media with many users hailing the fighter pilot flying the deadly aircraft."I'm begging major media to report on whether "The Ghost of Kyiv" really exists—as if it's true that today a heroic Ukrainian fighter pilot single-handedly downed *6* Russian jets, this flying ace immediately," tweeted a user.

"Bro the 'Ghost of Kyiv' really just sounds like something straight from and Ace combat game 'Ace combat 8: The ghost of Kyiv' sounds like a good name," read another tweet.

"Throughout the conflict in Ukraine seen today, there is one Ukrainian MiG-29 Fighter Jet that is soaring through the skies of Kyiv, this single fighter jet has already earned itself an alias, the 'Ghost of Kyiv', and has already downed SIX Russian aircraft," wrote a user.