Ukrainians call unidentified fighter pilot ‘Ghost of Kiev’ after dogfight videos surface

A video shared on Twitter garnered more than four million views

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  A Ukrainian soldier walks past the shell of a burnt military vehicle, on a street in Kiev. AP

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  A screengrab from CCTV footage shows a missile hitting a residential building in Kiev. Reuters

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  A man inspects a broken window, after shelling carried out by Russian troops in the Ukrainian capital. Reuters

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  Ukrainian soldiers take positions outside a military centre as two cars burn on a street in Kiev. AP

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  Medical specialists transport a woman, who was wounded in the shelling of an apartment building, to an ambulance, as her husband looks on. Reuters

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  A woman outside her apartment building after it was damaged by a rocket, in Kiev. AP

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  A Ukrainian police officer detains a driver on a street in Kiev. AP

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  A soldier's helmet with a bullet hole on a street in the Ukrainian capital. AP

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  Ukrainian soldiers walk by a damaged vehicle, at the site of fighting with Russian troops, in Kiev. Reuters

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  Ukrainian policemen move parrots to safety after a high-rise apartment block was damaged by shelling in Kiev. EPA

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  A screengrab from a video shows rescue workers carrying a person at the site of a damaged multi-storey residential building, south-west of the Ukrainian capital. Reuters

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  A building damaged by shelling carried out by Russian troops in Kiev. EPA

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  Helga Tarasova comforts her daughter Kira Shapovalova as they wait in an underground shelter during a bombing alert in Kiev. AFP

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  A man walks past a building damaged by a rocket attack in the Ukrainian capital. AP

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  Emergency services workers near an apartment building damaged by shelling in Kiev. Reuters

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  Ukrainian soldiers collect unexploded shells in the capital. AFP

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  An apartment building damaged by shelling in Kiev. Reuters

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  Debris of a burnt military truck on a street in Kiev. AP

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  Natali Sevriukova stands next to her home after a rocket attack in Kiev, Ukraine. AP

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  People on foot and in cars move to cross from Ukraine to Poland at the Korczowa-Krakovets border crossing following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

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  Servicemen from the Ukrainian National Guard in central Kiev. Reuters

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  Ukrainian soldiers in downtown Kiev after Russian troops reached the outskirts of the capital. AP Photo

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  Police officers detain demonstrators in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hundreds of people gathered in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Thursday, protesting against Russia's attack on Ukraine. Similar protests took place in other Russian cities, and activists were also arrested. AP Photo

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  Hungarian troops in Vasarosnameny, close to the border with Ukraine, prepare to help refugees. AP Photo

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  Wrecked Russian army rocket launchers in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Reuters

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  The aftermath of a rocket attack in Kiev. AP Photo

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  A US Air Force jet refuels over Poland. Reuters

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  Devastation after shelling in Ukraine's Luhansk enclave. Reuters

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  The Royal Welsh Battlegroup from the UK makes its way to Estonia. Reuters

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  Firefighters tackle a blaze in a building in Kiev. AFP

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  The wreckage of an unidentified aircraft in a residential area in Kiev. Reuters

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  Smoke rises near the Ukrainian Defence Ministry in Kiev. Reuters

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  Russian military helicopters fly over the Ukrainian capital. AP

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  An anxious wait to board a train to leave Kiev as the attack loomed. AP Photo

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  Ukrainian servicemen on tanks in the Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. AP Photo

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  Ukraine troops said this destroyed armoured vehicle outside Kharkiv belonged to the Russian army. Reuters

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  Rescuers at the crash site after a Ukraine armed forces Antonov aircraft was shot down in Kiev, according to the Ukrainian authorities. Reuters

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  Ukrainian tanks that aim to repel an attack by the Russian military in the Luhansk enclave of Ukraine. AFP

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  A Ukrainian State Border Guard Service base is ablaze after heavy shelling near Kiev. Reuters

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  Damaged radar at a Ukrainian military plant outside Mariupol. Officials in Kiev say Russian troops have rolled into the country from the north, east and south. AP Photo

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  Firefighters attend a blaze after bombing in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuguiv, as Russian armed forces appeared to be bombarding Ukraine from several directions. AFP

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  A traffic jam in Kiev, with many Ukrainians leaving their capital after Russian troops entered. EPA

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  The Border Service of Ukraine released CCTV footage purporting to show Russian military vehicles passing a checkpoint to drive into Crimea. AP

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  A man picks up fragments of military materiel on the street after an apparent Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP

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  Workers load the debris of a rocket on to a lorry in the aftermath of Russian shelling in Kiev. AP

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  Emergency staff treat an injured man after bombing in Chuguiv. AFP

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  An American woman in distress after crossing the border to flee the violence in Ukraine, in Medyka, Poland. Reuters

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  People take shelter in a Kiev subway station, after Russian President Vladimir Putin authorised a military operation in eastern Ukraine. Reuters

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  People in a rush near Kiev-Pasazhyrskyi railway station in the Ukrainian capital. AFP

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  A Flightradar24.com screengrab shows a dearth of civilian aircraft in Ukrainian airspace after the Russian invasion. AP

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  The aftermath of bombing in Chuguiv. AFP

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  A Ukrainian rocket launcher vehicle prepares for action. Reuters

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  Cars are driven across a field to leave the city of Kharkiv. Reuters

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  People chant, carry placards and wave Ukrainian flags as they gather in Sydney, to demonstrate against Russian attacks on its neighbour. AP

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  People with many of their belongings packed take shelter in a Metro station in Kiev. AFP

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  Emergency services at the scene of an explosion at a military unit building in Kiev. EPA

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  A Kiev resident sweeps up debris after Russian shelling. AP

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  The first 40 soldiers of the 173rd US Army Airborne Brigade step off a military plane in Latvia. EPA

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  More damage from shelling in Kiev. AP

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  People wait at a bus station to travel to western parts of Ukraine, after violence in the east. Reuters

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  A woman carries her cats in a quest for a safe haven. AFP

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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy holds an urgent government meeting in Kiev to discuss the next step. AFP

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  European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and foreign policy chief Josep Borrell give a joint statement in Brussels, updating the press about the situation in Ukraine. EPA

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  People survey the damage after bombing in Chuguiv. AFP

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  A building on fire in Chuguiv. AFP

Live updates: follow the latest news on Russia-Ukraine

Ukrainians named an unidentified fighter pilot the “Ghost of Kiev” after reports that he had shot down at least six Russian fighter jets.

A yet-to-be-confirmed video circulating on social media shows the Ukrainian MiG-29 pilot flying above Kiev on February 23, the day Russian President Vladimir Putin formally invaded Ukraine.

If the reports are confirmed, the pilot would also gain the title of “fighter ace”, a term given to military aviators who have successfully shot down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat.

One video, allegedly of the fighter pilot, garnered more than four million views on Twitter on Friday.

“Reports are coming that a Ukrainian pilot has shot down six Russian Aircraft today, and might have possibly become the first 21st century fighter ace. The pilot, known as 'the Ghost of Kyiv', and his MiG-29 were seen in numerous videos from today,” wrote Twitter user Visegrad 24, who has about 93,000 followers.

A MiG 29 fighter jet. Ukrainian social media circles are abuzz with talk of a fighter pilot who allegedly shot down at least six Russian jets in aerial combat. EPA

The invasion of Ukraine is shaping up to be Europe’s first major armed conflict in the social media age, when the small screen of the smartphone is the dominant tool of communication, carrying with it the peril of the instantaneous spread of dangerous, even deadly, disinformation, AP reported.

At the end of the first day of military operations, the chief spokesman of Russia's Defence Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said his country had successfully hit 83 land targets — all Ukrainian military infrastructure.

Four Ukrainian fighter jets, one helicopter and four Bayraktar unmanned aerial vehicles had been also been destroyed, he said.

The US said Russia had gathered more than 150,000 troops at Ukraine's borders on the eve of the invasion, plus tens of thousands of Russian-backed fighters in breakaway enclaves of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.

The number of Ukraine's active armed forces stands at 196,600, according to the authoritative IISS Military Balance report released last week.

European landmarks light up in solidarity with Ukraine - in pictures

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  No 10 Downing Street in London is lit blue and yellow in solidarity with Ukraine after the Russian invasion. EPA

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  A protest banner outside Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, which is also lit up in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Reuters

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  People show solidarity with the people of Ukraine outside the Colosseum in Rome. AP Photo

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  The Cinquantenaire Arch lit up on the sidelines of a special meeting of the European Council to discuss the Ukrainian crisis, in Brussels. Bloomberg

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  Oslo City Hall is illuminated in Norway. Reuters

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  The SIS Building in central London, home to intelligence services, is lit up in an expression of solidarity with Ukraine. PA

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  Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. EPA

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  The Foreign Office in central London displays the colours of the Ukrainian flag. PA

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  Sarajevo City Hall floodlit in blue and yellow in Bosnia. AFP

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  The Queen Elizabeth II Centre in central London. PA

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  St George's Hall in Liverpool, England. PA