The Ukrainian military is in danger of losing control over the country's airspace. Such a scenario could arise if the West does not respond to the request for additional weapons, The Times reports.
"We used anti-tank missiles against the Russian air force, which caused them to stop sending helicopters into our territory because they were afraid that their aircraft would be shot down.
But now that the Russians know that we are running out of ammunition, they will speed up sending helicopters into our territory. More and more helicopters and planes are appearing every day, and they are beginning to understand that we cannot stop their aircraft," - Ukrainian military officials told The Times.
Top-secret documents of the Pentagon, which were distributed on the Internet, revealed the weaknesses of the Ukrainian army. It said Ukraine is so short of anti-aircraft munitions that it could cause Ukraine to lose control of its airspace as early as next month.
That comes as no surprise to the soldiers holding the line from Svatovo to Kremennaya, where Russian troops have been making daily advances since withdrawing from large parts of Kharkiv in September. At that time, the Kremlin's attention was focused on something else: the southern front in Kherson and the "meat grinder" city of Bakhmut, where thousands of soldiers died on both sides.
Russia has already focused on reducing the supply of air defense equipment to Ukraine. The winter campaign to destroy Ukraine's civilian infrastructure may not have been successful, but it has led to a focus on air defenses over cities and critical installations.
At the same time, Russia has improved its FAB-500 bomb, equipping it with fins and a GPS system that allows it to be dropped from a fighter jet and reach a target by itself.
In turn, such an aircraft has never entered the territory of Ukraine, which means that it is at risk of being destroyed. It was this bomb dropped from the Su-34 that accidentally hit the Russian city of Belgorod, injuring at least three people. Analysts attribute the increase in such incidents to the sharp increase in the number of Russian military flights.
Ukraine's upcoming military plan is how to protect the airspace of ground forces. Allies have not yet responded to Ukraine's request for F-16s.
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