The US-led Western Mainstream Media’s (MSM) coverage of the Ukrainian Conflict was rocked by the revelation that the so-called “Ghost of Kiev” is fake, which was admitted to by none other than that country’s air command. Their verified Facebook account acknowledged on Saturday that “The Ghost of Kiev is a superhero-legend whose character was created by Ukrainians! This is a collective image of pilots of the Air Force’s 40th tactical aviation brigade, who defend the sky over the capital.” For those who’ll instinctively doubt the veracity of this post and speculate that their account was possibly hacked, they should be aware that it remains up as of 2 May and that even the BBC reported on it.

That being the case, there’s no longer any mystery about the “Ghost of Kiev’s” identity since this person veritably doesn’t even exist and is nothing but the product of a Ukrainian psychological operation (psy-op) that successfully manipulated millions of minds across the world over the past two months. Whereas the Snake Island psy-op was exposed within days of being introduced to the public after Russia showed that base’s captured Ukrainian soldiers on TV and therefore discredited the false claims that they were all killed after reportedly swearing at one of its warships over the radio, the “Ghost of Kiev” remained in play for much longer. In fact, there are likely still those who probably think it’s real.

This fake news psy-op reveals a lot about the Ukrainian Conflict’s dynamics. If Kiev was truly “winning” like the MSM has implied and is increasingly declaring outright, then the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) wouldn’t have to resort to spreading lies about their troops’ successes. The very fact that they’ve done so in such a high-profile way and for so long too also suggests that their side’s morale isn’t as high as it’s portrayed either, once again, otherwise they wouldn’t have to propagate fake news throughout their own society in a desperate bid to raise it. Admitting that the “Ghost of Kiev” was nothing but fake news also hints that this psy-op recently stopped working and might even have become counterproductive.

No serious observer could ever have sincerely extended credence to this psy-op. It was absurd from the get-go to claim that one individual shot down dozens of Russian planes. Still, those who voiced skepticism about this false narrative were smeared as “conspiracy theorists” or even “Russian agents”. The MSM became heavily invested in upholding this manufactured myth for information warfare purposes against both Russia but also their own targeted Western audience. Implanting this image in people’s minds through incessant reminders that the “Ghost of Kiev” supposedly exists was intended to convince them that Ukrainians are godlike warriors who’ll never be defeated by Russia.

All the while, the Russian Armed Forces (RAF) solidified their control over Eastern and Southern Ukraine despite over 60 days of NATO-backed proxy war against the most powerful military alliance in human history. In other words, it was never Kiev that was “winning”, but Russia this whole time (and against the odds at that), hence the urgent need to desperately concoct some propaganda for distracting their targeted Western and Ukrainian audiences from this objectively existing fact. As Russian control expanded along those two peripheries of the country to become a unified area under Moscow’s sway, Westerners and Ukrainians alike were gaslit into thinking that none of this was supposedly happening.

The on-the-ground reality is now impossible to deny as the Battle of Donbass heats up, hence one of the reasons why the UAF might have finally come clean in admitting that the “Ghost of Kiev” was just fake news. The longer that this manufactured narrative continued circulating under these new military conditions, the less credible Ukrainian official sources of information became to the average news consumer. Even the most diehard supporter of Kiev at home or abroad must have started having some doubts in the back of their mind at the very least about whether this individual even existed. If they were truly real, one might have wondered, then why aren’t they downing Russian jets over Donbass?

The UAF’s admission isn’t unique though since it’s actually the latest voluntary admission that lies have deliberately been spread by the anti-Russian side in this conflict, though this is always manipulatively presented as something positive and even noble. US spies told NBC News in early April that their country is indeed waging information warfare against Russia and even employing fake news to that end. Another US intel source admitted to CNN a few weeks later that “every Zelensky broadcast is an information operation”, or in other words, pure propaganda. These three admissions were all done as “damage control” after their targeted audience increasingly realized that they’ve been lied to.

It’s now an undeniable matter of fact that the anti-Russian side cannot be trusted with anything that they claim about the Ukrainian Conflict. US spies are deliberately spreading fake news against Russia while Zelensky is now acknowledged to be carrying out “information operations” during all of his appearances. The “Ghost of Kiev” never existed, and nobody knows how many other lies will soon be exposed in the coming weeks as the on-the-ground military dynamics in Donbass bring more of them to light. The takeaway is that those who sympathize with Kiev should ask themselves why the so-called “good guys” are lying if they’re really in the right and everything’s supposedly going according to plan.