A fearsome fighter pilot rumoured to have shot down more than 40 Russian planes has lost his life defending Ukraine, according to local reports.
Major Stepan Tarabalka, also apparently known as the Ghost of Kyiv, lost his life when the MiG-29 he was flying was shot down while battling "overwhelming" enemy forces, mayor of Kolomyia Bogdan Stanislavsky announced.
The 29-year-old became a cult figure at the beginning of the war and was said to patrol the skies above the Ukrainian capital.
