It’s a story that offers braveness and hope to the folks of Ukraine in these darkish days: The navy has put up a fierce combat towards the Russian invasion, and one very distinctive fighter pilot has develop into a people hero. Identified solely because the “Ghost of Kyiv,” he’s stated to have single-handedly introduced down six Russian planes for the reason that invasion started.
The story has principally unfold by way of social media, with movies and pictures that seem to indicate the pilot in motion posted by Kyiv residents, former President Petro Poroshenko and the Protection Ministry.
In a single extensively shared video, the Ghost of Kyiv chases down a Russian aircraft after which shoots it out of the sky. In Ukrainian, a voice says: “There is a aircraft. There’s one other one. It is about to crash.”
This can be a sequence from the online game Digital Fight Simulator World. “This footage is from DCS, however is however made out of respect for the ‘Ghost of Kiev,'” the one who uploaded the video to YouTube on February 24 writes, utilizing an alternate transliteration for Ukraine’s capital. “If he’s actual, might God be with him; if he’s faux, I pray for extra like ‘him.'”
A spokesman for Digital Fight Simulator World has confirmed to the Reuters information company that the fabric is certainly from the sport.
Previous, altered pictures
Poroshenko, the president from 2014 to 2019, posted a photograph of a helmeted pilot in a cockpit on Twitter, figuring out the particular person because the Ghost of Kyiv. “With such robust defenders,” Poroshenko wrote, “Ukraine will certainly win!”
That picture was posted almost three years ago by the Protection Ministry. The pilot within the image is doing a check flight with a brand new helmet. So, even when that’s in reality the mysterious pilot, the picture is an outdated one.
The identify Vladimir Abdonov is making the rounds, and there are additionally varied footage that purport to indicate him.
If Vladimir Abdonov does exist, he’s not the person pictured right here,
A few of the pictures are clearly not real. The truth that the next picture has been altered can as an example be proven by a so-called noise evaluation with an image-processing program. When photographs are being altered, this usually leaves seen traces within the noise. On this particular case, this may be seen on the pilot’s head, the insignia on his arm and the Ukrainian flag within the background.
Not the ‘Ghost of Kyiv’ however a manipulated picture from Canada
A reverse picture search confirms the suspicion that it is a faux. The identical picture appeared on-line years in the past, however with a distinct head, a distinct badge on the arm and no flag within the background. If you happen to look carefully on the aircraft behind the pilot, you’ll be able to see a grey maple leaf — a logo utilized by the Royal Canadian Air Power. This was presumably missed when the image was manipulated, and it provides away that most probably it is a image from Canada.
The identical instruments can be utilized to indicate {that a} head has been swapped on this picture. The unique picture was distributed by the Common Workers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It reveals the fallen marine Vitaliy Skakun, who was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Skakun is alleged to have blown up a bridge on the danger of his life to cease the advance of a Russian tank column.
You’ll be able to clearly see that the pinnacle on the appropriate has been doctored in
It’s the face of a lawyer from Buenos Aires, who’s now amused about his new hero standing and has posted about it on Twitter.
How succesful is Ukraine’s air protection?
As of now, the existence of a Ukrainian fighter pilot who shot down six Russian planes can’t be confirmed.
On Thursday, the primary day of the invasion, Ukraine’s navy introduced that 5 Russian planes and one helicopter had been shot down. On the identical day, Russia declared that it had disabled air defenses and air bases in Ukraine.
What is for certain is that lots of the movies and pictures that declare to indicate the mysterious pilot are fakes.
The Protection Ministry weighed in on Twitter on Friday: “Dozens of skilled navy pilots, from captain to basic, beforehand launched from the reserve, are returning to the Air Power. Who is aware of, perhaps considered one of them the pilot of the MiG-29, which is so usually seen by the folks of Kyiv!”
The ministry has not responded to DW’s questions concerning the id of the pilot.
Extra reporting: Michel Penke, Rachel Baig
This text has been translated from German.