Kyiv: Major Stepan Tarabalka, pilot of a Ukrainian warplane known as the Ghost of Kyiv, has been killed. Stepan Tarabalka’s death comes a month after more than 40 enemy planes were shot down during the war with Russia.
Ukrainian officials say he was killed on a MiG-29 he was flying during a confrontation with Russian forces.
Stepan, 29, who regularly patrolled the skies of the capital, Kiev, had become a cult figure in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
It is said that six Russian planes were shot down on the first day of the occupation of Ukraine, and that the number of enemy planes he shot down before his death exceeded 40.
He became famous after the Ukrainian government released a video about Stepan Tarabalka’s fighting prowess.
Dim Times reports that Stepan Tarabalka was born into a working-class family in the small village of Korolivka in western Ukraine.
He graduated from the Air Force University in Harkiv. Olinia is his wife. Eight-year-old Yerrick is the only son.
After her death, Tarabalka was posthumously awarded the Order of the Golden Star, Ukraine’s Medal for Heroes of War, and the Hero of Ukraine.