A fighter pilot known as 'Ghost of Kyiv' died in an air battle after allegedly shooting down over 40 Russian aircraft, reports say.
Major Stepan Tarabalka, 29, a father of one, was killed when the MiG-29 he was flying was shot down on March 13 while fighting “overwhelming” enemy forces, according to The Times which reported quoting local reports.
The death of the much-celebrated enigmatic pilot was reported by The Times of London, which for the first time also publicly identified Major Stepan Tarabalka, a 29-year-old father of one, as the war hero, New York Post reports.
Tarabalka became a mysterious legend when the Ukrainian government credited the then-anonymous pilot with shooting down six Russian jets on the first day of the war.
“People call him the Ghost of Kyiv. And rightly so,” the official tweet said, saying he had “already become a nightmare for invading Russian aircraft.”
Tarabalka was posthumously awarded Ukraine’s top medal for bravery in combat, the Order of the Golden Star, with the title Hero of Ukraine, according to his family.
His helmet and goggles — all that was seen of him when Ukrainian officials promoted his heroism — are now set to be auctioned in London, sources told the UK Times while confirming Tarabalka’s identity.
His parents, according to the Post, confirmed that Tarabalka — who leaves behind a wife, Olenia, and 8-year-old son, Yarik — was awarded the Order of the Golden Star, with the title Hero of Ukraine.
“Of course, he’d already earned this award when he was with us,” his father told NPR.
“But we wish he could get the honor after the war. We just wish he was still alive.”