The statement came after published reports identified Maj. Stepan Tarabalka as the man behind the moniker. Tarabalka was a real pilot who died March 13 during air combat and was posthumously awarded the title Hero of Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said last month. But he was not the “Ghost of Kyiv,” the force said in Saturday’s statement.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to exterminate his people, pointing out Sunday in his nightly address that Russian shelling had hit food, grain and fertilizer warehouses, as well as residential neighborhoods in the Kharkiv, Donbas and other regions.
“The targets they choose prove once again that the war against Ukraine is a war of extermination for the Russian army,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Russia will gain nothing from the damage but will further isolate itself from the rest of the world.
“What could be Russia’s strategic success in this war?” Zelenskyy said. “Honestly, I do not know.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
Comments