Andrii Pilshchykov - The Original Ghost. (Part 2)

The Unprovoked Russian Invasion, 24 February 2022 – 5:30am

It starts out as a dream. A distant whistle. A rolling thunder. Andrii is caught in a storm, but he stands in the eye of a hurricane. Jets and missiles whirl around him until, BOOM! His entire apartment shudders. The sound of the howling wind is actually an air raid siren. His base is under attack! Vasylkiv Air Base is 20 miles southwest of Kyiv. Missiles landing here could only mean one thing—Russia had launched a full-scale invasion.

On his way out of the Air Force, he had agreed to rally the wives of those who would be taking to the air soon in a mad scramble to protect the nation. Some would never return. We will tell all their stories in future entries, reader. One of the wives contacted was almost certainly Elena Tarabalka. After an emotional exchange with several wives, Andrii grabbed his military issue rifle and headed for base. He desperately, wanted to get into the air, but the Ukrainian Airforce was executing a retrograde plan which would see several pilots engage the Russians without weapons to buy the rest of the force time. Andrii explains his role in those first days.

“Actually, for the first few days, there were no cockpits for me, we had no free jets for me on the base, because they were on another airfield,” he explained. “So, my mission was to provide ground defense for my squadron, with some special [operations forces] guys, to help them, because I know this place better than they do.” (Newdick, 2022)

The first days of fighting were ferocious, especially in the battle for Hostomel Airfield as airborne Russian troops tried to seize the strategic location. With the members of the 40th Tactical Aviation brigade claiming kills against two Il-76 transports used to deliver airborne troops, four Mi-24 helicopters, A SU-25 ground attack aircraft, and possibly even one fancy new SU-35. (No visual confirmation of the latter). The Ukrainian Air Force credits an ace pilot named Lt. Col. Vyacheslav Yerko for two of the helicopters and the two [fixed wing aircraft. Yerko was shot down over the airfield. Ukrainian sources report the Russians shot him as his parachute floated down. The media has to be objective about this, as it is hearsay. I am careful when kill counts for the Ukrainian side seem high, and I wonder if one pilot managed four kills on the 24th. But if the Ukraine military tells me a pilot was executed after ejecting, based on the track record of the Russians in this war, I believe them. (Axe, 2022)

The exploits of Lt. Col Yerko, also make me wonder if this is who Juice was referring to when asked about the “Ghost of Kyiv.”

“There are a lot of versions (Of the Ghost of Kyiv) now on the internet,” he admitted, “but the first stuff [reported] about him is actually the truth. Of course, some fiction has since been added. But actually, he’s from my home base, my unit … I couldn’t tell you all the details now, but I think after the victory you will know everything about him.” (Newdick, 2022)

Perhaps Yerko’s victories made Juice feel more than justified in starting his own propaganda campaign. However the legend would travel from Yerko to other pilots. Five weeks into the conflict, and two more pilots of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade had gone down. One of these was Major Stepan Tarabalka. Ukraine was able to recover his helmet and flight gloves, and when these items were labeled as belonging to the “Ghost of Kyiv” at an auction supporting the war effort in the UK, international media ran full sprint with the story. The Legend became so bloated that the Ghost (Tarabalka at the time) now had more than forty kills. It was at this point the Ukrainian Defense page was forced to declare the Ghost a “Super hero Legend.”

Meanwhile the war raged on. The Mig-29s of the 40th provided top cover as Ukrainian SU-25 attack aircraft tried to harass the Russian lines – in particular that long traffic jam outside of Kyiv. It was here that the Air war became “Cat and mouse” with neither side really wanting to risk a full on missile engagement without the advantage. Juice describes the patrols.

“I am patrolling in the area and trying to find something, ‘free hunting,’ or sometimes it’s like pushing the enemy from your area. If they have us on their screen, especially if we have a few guys patrolling the area, they don’t want to get into trouble. So, we can push them from the area.

Once Russia gave up on its assault on Kyiv in late March, the 40th turned the attention of its Migs to downing the larger, higher flying Turkish drones. They had tried attacking drones and cruise missiles before, with limited success, but it soon became the primary mission.

The exact kill count for Juice against drones is unlisted, but he flew over 100 combat flights, with amny of them being air to ground missions against Russian command posts. Notably, he and his wingman Vladyslav “Nomad” Savieliev were the first to fire and destroy Russian Surface to Air Missile Radar with the HARM missile attached to their Migs on 2 June 2023.

As a Ghost, Andrii Pilshchykov was lethal. But as an Ambassador advocating for the F-16, he and fellow pilot Oleksii “Moonfish” Mes accomplished an even more important mission.

A mission, now put in jeopardy, by Donald Trump. We tell the story of Juice, Moonfish, and the Ukrainian F-16 in the next entry.

Works Cited:

Newdick Thomas., Ukrainian MiG-29 Pilot’s Front-Line Account Of The Air War Against Russia, TWZ, 2 April 2022

Axe David, Five Brave Ukrainian MiG Pilots Blunted the Russian Attack On Kyiv On Day One Of The War. Not All Of Them Survived, Forbes, 9 December 2022