Ukrainian hero or Nazi pilot? Found fodder for Russian propaganda China operates two “overseas police stations” in Germany

It is one of the iconic images that the war in Ukraine has produced so far: with a blood-stained face, the Ukrainian pilot gives his thumbs up to show that everything is okay.

According to official information, this fighter pilot just survived being ejected from his MiG-29. Earlier, he shot down two Russian missiles and five Iranian Shahed 136 drones, causing his plane to be brought down by debris. However, before getting off the plane, he managed to steer his burning fighter jet away from the city of Vinnytsia to prevent the wreckage from falling on civilians.

The airman is Major Vadim Voroshilov. He received his military achievement on October 12. His fans have called him the “Shahed Killer”, “Ukrainian Maverick”, or “Ghost of Vinnytsia”. This week, President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded him the Gold Star of Hero of Ukraine, Ukraine’s highest medal for bravery. This was announced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Thursday.

It is in the nature of the war that Voroshilov is now as much hated by the enemy Russians as he is admired by his compatriots. What is unfortunate is how he uses the Russian myth that all Ukrainians are Nazis and the Russians are the actual liberators.

In social networks, friends of Russia call him a “Ukronazi pilot”, which is one of the more innocent terms. This is due to his flying call sign “Karaya”, which Voroshilov wears prominently on his pilot’s helmet.

Erich Hartmann, the most successful fighter pilot of all time

In circles familiar with military history, one immediately knows: this nickname has a history associated with Nazi Germany. German fighter pilot Erich Hartmann became world famous during World War II as the “Karaya-1”. He still tops the list of the most successful fighter pilots of all time by far.

Erich “Bubi” Hartmann (1922-1993) survived the war with an incredible 352 confirmed kills, while the best Allied pilots only very rarely managed to shoot down more than 40 enemy machines. Hartmann achieved his military successes mainly on the Eastern Front against Soviet pilots.

Based on a popular hit at the time, “the exotic fairy tale Karaya”, Hartmann’s squadron adopted the song’s title as an airline call sign. He also had the letters painted on his fighter plane.

Hartmann was surrendered to the Soviet Union by American forces in 1945 and was brought before a special tribunal as a prisoner of war and sentenced to 25 years of hard labor for war crimes and anti-Soviet activities. Hartmann defended himself against the conviction with sometimes a hunger strike and spoke of a fabricated charge: as a fighter pilot he had never violated martial law.

Pardoned in early 1955, he was one of the last German soldiers allowed to return home from Soviet captivity in the thaw after Stalin’s death. In the Bundeswehr, which he later joined, Hartmann rose to the rank of colonel in aviation.

According to his (well-meaning) American biographers Raymond Toliver and Trevor Constable, the rather frail pilot was regarded as an unpleasant, highly critical soldier who retired in the course of the Starfighter crash sequence in 1970 out of disappointment with the generals. Previously, Hartmann’s warnings about the overexposed American jet, which was unsuitable for the Bundeswehr, went unheeded.

Hartmann’s victims also included Ukrainians

Now there would certainly be worse role models in Voroshilov’s fighter pilot universe: unlike incorrigible former Nazi pilots like Colonel Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Erich Hartmann was always considered politically ignorant and only obsessed with aviation. Nevertheless, the Karaya reference is fodder for Russian war propaganda, as can now be seen on the social networks.

Kremlin propagandists like to point out that there were many Ukrainians among the Soviet pilots shot down by Hartmann in World War II, many of whom died.

Voroshilov himself, who would fly missions again after his injury, has not yet made any statements about Karaya or Erich Hartmann. However, one of his fans takes to Twitter to express understanding for him: it makes sense for a pilot ace to compare himself to the best of the best in his industry and pay him his respects.