The "Ghost of Kyiv" will now officially protect the sky over the capital.

President Zelensky announced the new name of the 40th Air Brigade during the celebrations on the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of Ukraine's Independence, which took place in Kyiv.

The day before, the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was awarded per decree the honorary title "Ghost of Kyiv". At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, this was the name of the mythical pilot who shot down enemy planes over the Ukrainian capital.

The image of the "Ghost of Kyiv" was created by the press service of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to counter Russian propaganda. At that time, many videos appeared on the Web of how the Ukrainian Air Force and tactical aviation strike at Russian planes, shooting them down.

As The Times "revealed" who this hero was, wrongly claiming it was the Hero of Ukraine, Major Stepan Tarabalka, the Air Force Command explained that the "Ghost of Kyiv" is actually a collective image of the pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade of the Air Force, who defended the skies of the capital.

The 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade stationed in the city of Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region was created in 1992.

On February 24, 2022, when the Russian invasion of the Ukraine began, at about 5:10 a.m., the airfield in Vasylkiv near Kyiv was hit by a missile, but thanks to the actions of Senior Lieutenant Vyacheslav Radionov, the entire brigade of aircraft was not damaged and was lifted into the sky.

On that day, the brigade's airfield was hit by repeated missile strikes, but the brigade defended the skies over Kyiv and the region and shot down at least 6 planes.

During the first 18 days of the war, from February 24 to March 12, the brigade managed to destroy at least 20 enemy aircraft.

On June 15, 2022, the brigade was awarded the honorary award "For Courage and Bravery".