[War & Business] The Ghost of Kyiv

On the 25th of last month (local time), Petro Poroshenko, former President of Ukraine, posted a photo of the "Ghost of Kyiv" pilot on his Twitter account. However, it was revealed that the photo was actually a pilot training image previously released by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense in 2019. [Image source=Twitter]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Recently, in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the incredible story of the "Ghost of Kyiv" has attracted worldwide attention. The Ghost of Kyiv refers to a legendary Ukrainian pilot who allegedly flew an old Soviet-made Mig-29 fighter jet and shot down dozens of advanced Russian fighter jets.

Although it is not even known whether this pilot actually exists, the Ukrainian government continues to promote his achievements. The Ukrainian government claims that after shooting down six Russian fighter jets on the first day of combat, the Ghost of Kyiv has so far shot down 21 Russian fighter jets. If this claim is true, he would be considered the greatest fighter pilot of the 21st century.

Of course, military experts do not take this claim at face value. They argue that a Mig-29 fighter jet, which entered service in 1983, cannot even detect, let alone shoot down, Russia's fifth-generation stealth fighters. Since most fifth-generation fighters have missile ranges exceeding 300 km, it is impossible for an old fighter jet to shoot down a state-of-the-art fighter conducting beyond-visual-range (BVR) air combat that cannot be visually identified.

However, the fact that the legend of the Ghost of Kyiv has emerged is due to the significant successes of the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense units, which has left Western intelligence agencies rather perplexed. When the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the 24th that it had suppressed the Ukrainian Air Force and air defense network with overwhelming air power within two hours of the start of the war, most expected the war to end quickly, but it has instead prolonged.

The Russian Aerospace Forces, Russia's air force, is the world's second largest air force with about 165,000 personnel and over 1,400 military aircraft. Ukraine, including all available aircraft, has less than one-fifth the size of the Russian Air Force. However, Russian fighter jets have rarely participated in operations, reportedly due to a shortage of bombing missiles, making airstrikes difficult.

It remains a mystery why Russia, which boasts the ability to produce all strategic weapons from resource extraction to parts, assembly, and production, is suffering from missile shortages. The prevailing theory is that the widespread "corruption" permeating society due to Vladimir Putin's over 20 years of one-man dictatorship since the collapse of the Soviet Union has hampered the defense industry.

The chronic problems of Russia's defense industry, which had been malfunctioning due to various vested interests and political issues, have been laid bare by this war. The world’s attention is focused on how long President Putin can continue the war leading the Russian military, which has been revealed not as a "strong power" but as a "sick man" of Europe.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.