According to Ukrainian information, Russia was unable to gain air supremacy in the Ukraine war. However, the Air Force of Ukraine suffered casualties.
the essentials in brief
- The airspace over Ukraine is still in Ukrainian hands.
- Russia has tried unsuccessfully to change this, the air force chief said.
- The lieutenant general calls for support again.
According to its commander, the Ukrainian air force still sees the skies over Ukraine in its hands despite heavy Russian attacks. “The enemy did not control the Ukrainian sky and does not control it,” said Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk. The General Staff in Kyiv published the statements on Facebook on Friday evening.
After the attack on February 24, Russia tried to eliminate the Ukrainian air force. This was not successful. In the meantime, the Russian air force is attacking less with planes, but bombing from a distance with rockets.
Oleshchuk demanded from Ukraine’s allies more modern weapons, including fighter planes and medium- and long-range anti-aircraft missile systems. The weapons could also be of foreign design.
The lieutenant general’s statements on the remaining strength of the Ukrainian air force could not be independently verified. His troops have suffered casualties. However, Oleshchuk spoke on the day that two suspected Ukrainian helicopters set fire to a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod.
At the beginning of the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskyj repeatedly called for NATO to set up a no-fly zone over Ukraine. NATO refused to avoid fighting between aircraft of Russia and the Western alliance.
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