‘Ghost of Kyiv’: Is the mysterious Ukrainian fighter pilot real?

Social media has been ablaze with outlandish claims of a pilot known as the “Ghost of Kyiv” who is reportedly traversing the skies and taking down Russian jets – but does the Ukrainian flyer really exist?

A number of videos posted to Twitter showed a jet soaring through the sky, amid speculation the pilot downed six Russian planes on the first day of Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine.

A photo purporting to show the MiG-29 fighter pilot was tweeted on Friday by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, adding to speculation the exploits might be true.