The Ghost of Kyivis the nickname given to an unconfirmed MiG-29 Fulcrum flying ace who is credited with shooting down six Russian planes in the Kyiv offensive on 24 February 2022. The Ghost of Kyiv is likely an urban legend and not a real flying ace, but their status was credited as a major morale boost for the Ukrainian population.

Videos on social media began widely circulating of fighter jets in Ukraine on the first day of the Russian invasion in February 2022, claiming of a single pilot who took down multiple Russian jets. A possible or legendary pilot of a МіG-29, nicknamed the "Ghost of Kyiv" by the Ukrainian public, supposedly won six air fights in the sky of Kyiv during the first 30 hours of the invasion. The six planes are reported as two Su-35 planes, two Su-25 planes, a Su-27 plane and a МіG-29 plane. If the ace does exist, they would be the first recorded fighter ace of the 21st century, as well as an Ace in a Day.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence claims that, should the downings be confirmed, the Ghost of Kyiv could be one of dozens of experienced pilots of military reserve who urgently returned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine after Russia invaded. In a tweet, it referred to the Ghost of Kyiv as "the air avenger". However, in a claim by Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, he said he could only confirm a total of six Russian planes downed on the first day of fighting in Ukraine, though there may have been more.

A former Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko, later posted a tweet of a photograph of a fighter pilot, claiming it to be the Ghost of Kyiv, who Poroshenko said was real.

#plane #military #aircraft