Hero and "Ghost of Vinnytsia": what is known about pilot with call sign Karaya

OLENA BARSUKOVA – SATURDAY, 10 DECEMBER 2022

Vadym "Karaya" Voroshylov is a 28-year-old military pilot and one of the best Ukrainian fighter pilots.

On 12 October, Vadym destroyed five Russian UAVs over the skies of Vinnytsia Oblast and ejected, navigating the burning fighter jet away from the city.

After Vadym's heroic manoeuvre, Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded him the title of Hero of Ukraine, and the locals nicknamed the pilot "The Ghost of Vinnytsia", reminding people of the "Ghost of Kyiv".

The story of the legendary fighter pilot Karaya has been told on the YouTube channel of Ukraine’s Air Force.

Who is Karaya and how did he protect the skies of Vinnytsia?

Vadym Voroshylov is a military pilot who comes from Poltava Oblast. He borrowed the call sign Karaya from a historical character: it was the name of Erich Hartmann, the most efficient ace of the Second World War.

Having served with the Air Force since 2016, Vadym is an experienced military man. A year before the full-scale invasion he resigned, but after 24 February he returned to defend Ukraine.

Vadym said that he treats the aircraft as a living creature. "You need to talk to it, pet it, and it will work," Karaya said.

Vadym performed about 20 combat missions flying a MiG-29 with board number 10, which the Air Force showed in the video. On 12 October, his most famous flight mission took place.

"My morning started at 4 o'clock. The air raid signal was sounded. One pilot destroyed two Shahed UAVs in Ukraine’s south. I was the next to go. I also destroyed three, landed at the operational airfield with no incidents", Vadym recalls that day.

After that, Karaya performed other tasks, and in the evening, the Russians launched an attack again.

"I took off from an operational airfield in Ukraine’s south and then destroyed air targets over the skies of Vinnytsia Oblast," the pilot recalls.

The fifth target proved to be the last one for the aircraft, but, fortunately, not for Vadym.

"I locked on and intercepted the fifth air target and, sadly, after the target had been destroyed, my aircraft was damaged by wreckage from the explosion," Karaya said.

The cockpit glass and the nose of the aircraft were destroyed, and the pilot suffered numerous cuts. He was covered in blood, which prevented him from fully assessing the situation.

"There was a settlement ahead. I checked the aircraft controls: they were already partially out of service. Seeing a black area in front of me, I assumed that it was a field.

Then, the fire started inside the cockpit. And when the flames started to reach me, I ejected with no delay, as taught by the book [pilot’s manual – ed.]," Voroshylov said.

Vadym had been descending to the ground for about 2 minutes after ejecting. He landed 8 km from the plane’s crash site.

First, he contacted his commander, and then walked to a house in the nearest village, where a couple, Vladyslav and Tetiana, sheltered him.

Vadym published a photo from that flight on the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The image of the hero's bloody face immediately spread in social networks.

Karaya recalls that he took the photo to assess his health and the situation, and later published it to encourage others.

"This is the message that our nation cannot be defeated," Vadym emphasises.

After the heroic flight, the locals nicknamed Vadym Voroshylov "the Ghost of Vinnytsia".

"Many thanks to the people of Vinnytsia, the people of Ukraine, who gave such words of support. I am ready to take up the wing again and continue to destroy the enemy," Vadym said.

A new aircraft is waiting for the pilot. And Vadym himself is preparing to return to active duty.

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