Something is changing in the skies of Ukraine. Russian next-generation fighter jets are giving Moscow an “increasing dominance” of airspace in the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, according to a senior Ukrainian official quoted by ABC News. If confirmed, this trend would mark a worrying turnaround for the United States and its allies because Russia’s inability to achieve total air superiority during the course of the war has been key to Ukraine’s battlefield successes. This argument may also be a reason that the government of Volodimir Zelenski can use to once again demand the shipment of Western F-16 fighters. to Ukraine, something that the president of the United States has strictly denied, Joe Biden.
So far, Ukraine has said that Russia’s ability to control the skies has been limited by air defense and surface-to-air missiles. “We are not seeing a big change in that situation,” the official said in a session with reporters. The senior official in Kiev, speaking exclusively to ABC News, said Russia had replaced older models of planes with its newer Su-35, equipped with “more effective radar and long-range rocket missiles.” It is a single-seat, twin-engine multirole fighter developed by the Russian company Sukhoi as a derivative of the Su-27 air superiority fighter. The Kremlin air force is reportedly using these planes to attack Ukrainian aircraft in the air, as well as for ground support operations.
In an interview published in Ukrainian by Voice of America on March 14, retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Dan Hampton called the Su-35 multi-role fighter “garbage” when he put it as a reference for the F-16 Fighting Falcon. “Our planes are more durable. I would not bet on the Su-35 or any Russian-made aircraft in combat,” he added. The F-16s are multi-role fighter jets that have been undergoing upgrades and improvements since 1979, meaning the fourth-generation aircraft has some fifth-generation capabilities, including advanced radar.
Sources quoted by the North American chain assure that Russia has “12 times more planes” than Ukraine. “This is a problem,” said one official. “So we keep telling the American people that, in the end, there is no other solution than to give us fighter jets.”
Last week, Slovakia announced that it has delivered the first four Mig fighter jets of the Soviet era that he had promised to Ukraine. Poland has also promised to supply several Mig fighter jets to Ukraine. On a trip to London last month, Ukrainian President Zelensky called for sending in Western fighter jets.
The Russian Presidency has stated that sending military aircraft will only cause Ukraine “more problems” and has warned that, like weapons delivered to Ukrainian forces in the past, it will be a potential target of “destruction” for Russian troops.
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