Outnumbered five to one, Ukraine’s top guns fend off Russian fighter jets against the odds.
A month since the war began, Kyiv’s pilots stymied Moscow’s attempt to establish air superiority despite being given little chance
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🔴Night after night, Ukraine’s fighter jet pilots have taken the battle to an enemy that has “five times more planes”; their aircraft pushed to the limit with no time for pre-take-off checks.
The chances of survival in the dogfights in Ukrainian airspace are all too slim
The chances of survival in the dogfights in Ukrainian airspace are all too slim
➡️But against the odds, Ukraine’s air force has kept flying a month since the Russian invasion started. Nobody gave the pilots more than a few days.
Moscow’s failure to establish air superiority – key if it ever wanted to win a speedy victory – has caused the invasion to stall
Moscow’s failure to establish air superiority – key if it ever wanted to win a speedy victory – has caused the invasion to stall
✈️For the first time, Ukrainian air force pilots have been allowed to tell their story of how they have kept the skies open
🔴Andriy, 25, a Ukrainian fighter pilot, told The New York Times paper he is not informed of his mission until he is in the air.
The pilots have little time for pre-flight briefings, seemingly aware that it is not a good idea to linger in one spot for too long
The pilots have little time for pre-flight briefings, seemingly aware that it is not a good idea to linger in one spot for too long
Andriy, has said there was no time to make pre-take-off checks.
🗣️“I don’t do any checks. I just take off,” he said, adding: “Every time when I fly, it’s for a real fight. In every fight with Russian jets, there is no equality. They always have five times more planes in the air”
🗣️“I don’t do any checks. I just take off,” he said, adding: “Every time when I fly, it’s for a real fight. In every fight with Russian jets, there is no equality. They always have five times more planes in the air”
“Neither me nor my friends ever thought we would have to face a real war. But that’s not how it turned out,” he said
🗣️“I only have to use my skills to win,” Andriy told The New York Times. “My skills are better than the Russians. But on the other hand, many of my friends, and even those more experienced than me, are already dead”
🔴But Justin Bronk, a research fellow in airpower and technology at the Royal United Services Institute has said that “Russia has run out of momentum,” adding that if Ukraine can maintain its current level of resistance, then the war is unsustainable for Russia
Putin’s dream of a rapid win has gone and a lengthy war of attrition beckons.
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