As Bombs Rained Down, Ukrainian Troops Set A Trap For Russia’s Pilots

Forbes ^ | 10th November 2022 | David Axe

[Cronos]

The Russian air force had deployed three times as many fighters and attack planes as the Ukrainian air force had in its entire inventory. Ukraine’s air defenses were disorganized and, in the case of certain key long-range radars, sitting out in the open where the Russians easily could target them.

The Russians had a firepower advantage. The Ukrainians had the same advantages every defender possesses over an invader: motivation, simpler logistics, familiar terrain. Either side might’ve prevailed—the Russians by dominating the air, the Ukrainians by preventing the Russians from dominating the air.

We know how it turned out. The Russian air campaign fizzled. Ukrainian air defenses stiffened. By month nine of the wider war, the Ukrainians were counterattacking, the Russians were retreating and the Russian air force was losing more planes and helicopters than the Ukrainian air force was. A lot more.

To understand how Russia’s aerial advantage evaporated, Justin Bronk, Nick Reynolds and Jack Watling from the Royal United Services Institute in London interviewed key Ukrainian officials. The result is the definitive study of the Ukraine air war’s first phase.

https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/special-resources/russian-air-war-and-ukrainian-requirements-air-defence

The increasing panic of Russian ground troops, overextended in a doomed attempt to capture Kyiv, compelled Russian pilots to switch from attacking Ukrainian air defenses to supporting the ground forces.

That’s when Ukraine’s most important air defenses—its Buk mobile missiles—forced Russian air crews into a deadly, low-altitude trap. One that badly bloodied Russia’s best flying regiments and set the conditions for the aerial impasse that has come to define the war.

[kiryandil]

Destroying the Russian military. Yes, the Russian military is doing quite a good job of destroying itself

How's the Russian army mutiny in Pavlovka coming along? Hmmmmmm?

[canuck_conservative]

You come to somebody’s house, crap on his lawn and break windows

oh right, because Russia is always the victim

you illegally invade an innocent sovereign country, but you're the victim

LOL

[NorseViking]

My point exactly. They are petty trolls lacking intellect and consistency. He is still ignoring my question at post 23.

[NorseViking]

You definitely was asleep for the last 9 years, or pretend to.

[canuck_conservative]

OMG someone is ignoring your questions!!

and changing topics, too!!!

you need to file a complaint with the UN, this is absolutely inhumane

[NorseViking]

I am perfectly okay, it is just exposing you clowns as a bunch of deep state trolls you are. No consistency, no intellect, just pushing scripted narratives.

[usconservative]

The war is a textbook example of how not to run a war

IIRC, as is every war Russia is involved in.

[buwaya]

Ukraine doesnt make its own SAM systems. It depended on its prewar stocks. They made very good use of what they had (which is why the RuAF isnt raining iron bombs down on Kiev), but they are running low.

This is to be expected. Wars use up ammo and gear.

[buwaya]

The source of Bidens dirty money was global, including Russia and China. And Biden is a petty grifter serving as a figurehead for your real rulers, who dont worry about penny ante graft.

[buwaya]

Russian nukes are suicide weapons.
They CANT be used. Note the threats have stopped.

[buwaya]

The RuAF hasnt really been making much use of airpower.
Sat recon in public domain shows rather few Russian aircraft on airfields in range.

Your narrative is otherwise also silly.

If the Russians could, they would be overhead at 20,000 feet dropping laser-guided 1000 kilo bombs on Ukrainian infrastructure, to truly destroy those “hard” bits that can’t be repaired. You know, like the Dneiper bridges. They aren’t, because they can’t.

[867V309]

Russian nukes are suicide weapons.
They CANT be used. Note the threats have stopped.

exactly why the deep state can't ultimately defend the ukes

we're too far, they're too close, and most Americans won't die for them

[cranked]

“IIRC, as is every war Russia is involved in.”

Like fighting sheep herders and goat herders equipped with AK47s and RPGs in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years sets the supreme example of how to run a war......

[NorseViking]

The truth is in the middle. There is no objective to hit targets like this for good or bad reason. The risk to air assets is not the main reason behind it.

[ransomnote]

Biden, Pelosi, Schumer all support sending in taxpayer funds and weapons to the war in the Ukraine because extortion, fraud  and graft operations based in the Ukraine keeps the current Biden led Democrat regime alive. Biden and Congressional leadership relies on their cut of operations like Hunter's Burisma, or for example, 'technical support' funds misappropriated. We don't control who gets the  money Biden 'claims' to send to the Urkaine. The link at the bottom of this post gives you an idea of the Biden regime's reliance on the Ukraine for funding.

This fantasy is not helping the Ukrainian citizens. Zelensky attacks even when American advisors don't think he should because Zelensky wants to give the impression he's in control and driving the Russians out. He does it to keep the optics needed for corrupt leaders around the world to pretend to shove 'foreign aid' at the Ukraine, while actually funding their own empires.

The Russians took 40% of power grid down in Kyiv and can take it the rest of the way down, forcing 3 or 4 million people in Kyiv to evacuate in search of heat and water. How does this help?

The news issued a blackout (no pun intended) on blackouts in Kyiv because it revealed the true nature of the challenges facing Zelensky - where to evacuate millions of people?

Kyiv had 12 hour blackouts 5 days ago and was unable to keep the power on in the current weather when the temperatures are going down and more power will be needed.

Fox news reported hospitals and medical treatments were already hard to obtain because of power and water interruptions.
There was nothing to stop the Russians from continuing to take down the powergrid except Zelensky, and he is ignoring the Kyiv situation because to get more money  and weapons donated to the Ukraine, he has to make it look like he's relentless attacking like a gladiator about to finish off his oponent, when in fact Zelensky's about to have to deal with relocating millions of people.

There are not sufficient replacement parts for the old power technology and to get water out of the ground, you need power. Millions without electricity and losing access to water. This isn't winning.

To conceal the bad news from the west, the news and power outtage maps stopped updating so it's likely Kyiv is even darker, colder, and has less water now. But if the condition of Kyiv was known, the willingess of the public to keep pouring money into a losing battle, into the globalists puppet regime Zelensky represents, will dry up too. The citizens won't see the money but Biden and others who use the Ukraine to fund their grasping power and corruption rely on that 'foreign aid' which is divided among the blobalists.

I checked the website https://poweroutage.com/ua/ and found they are hiding blackout information and see this message: "Due to the ongoing conflict, and in cooperation with the Ukrainian Government and the NCRECP, the collection and distribution of power outage data for the UA is currently disabled."

Remember Biden extorting Ukrainian leadership to fire the prosecutor investigating Hunter's fraudulent dealings in the Ukraine? Remember Pelosi's SON, Schumer's Son, Hunter and Jim Biden (brother to Joe) are all mules carrying money to and from the Ukraine. At the link below you can see the tip of the massive international corruption iceberg in the Ukraine and understand why Joe Biden keeps giving billions in 'aid' to the Ukraine (some of which never reaches the ukraine!) in order to keep the cash cow alive.

Support for Zelensky/Ukraine is support for Biden/Deep State

The citizens are cold and struggling to maintain living conditions while Zelensky and others divide up 'foreign aid' amongst themselves. Prayers up for the citizens caught in the middle.

Because I keep pointing out the citizens are caught in the middle, and exposing the lies behind the 'narrative' that Zelensky's troops are winning (to justify more funding) is SO unpopular, some freepers launch ad hominem attacks, (e.g., someone had a mental meltdown and accused me of being a commie pedophile). They do that to shut down the truth about the 'optics' battle to falsely portray the Ukraine as 'winning'. How much more money will the Biden regime be allowed to grift off of so-called 'Ukrainian aid'?

The freeper pointed to the fact that Russia has many 'time zones' compared with the Ukrainian's single time zone to make the case that a big bully is beating up on a little country, but this never seems to sink into their thinking when they talk about who is winning the actual war.

The Russians were aware the bridge was going to be blown so they removed troops. They will return  in a few weeks and it won't be pretty. Who knows what happened to the power grid(s) in the last few days. The Ukrainian optics always claim they 'won' this or that while they have to hide the fact that they can't keep the lights on, water running etc., have burned through most of their troops and can't win.

America doesn't belong in the conflict. The South Eastern US is already struggling to get heating fuel and diesel and the nationwide supply chain is floundering, with a potential railroad strike delayed to early December for political reasons. Sending money to Biden and other globalists' corruption satellite doesn't help the Ukrainian citizens nor AMerica's citizens. "Foreign Aid" to the Ukraine isn't reaching people we want to help, and is draining the US of TAX PAYER money and weapons we cannot afford.

 

[Widget Jr]

#1 and #2. The problems the Russian military has are endemic throughout all branches. The Russian air force is no exception.

[Cronos]

Russia has nukes like they have aircraft carriers

the Ukrainians have already won the moment Putin's army retreated from Kyiv and failed to make Ukraine a vassal state.

[BeauBo]

“How many Americans do you think it (Russia) is going to kill over a couple of generations?”

You make a good case for continued military support to Ukraine, until the Russian threat is completely neutralized.

[NorseViking]

LOL. Like Japan neutralized US in Pearl Harbor. The highest level of success you can theoretically reach is Russia leaving Ukraine. Which is not going to fix your problem.

[Widget Jr]

The problems the Russian military has are endemic to all branches, including the air force. When the war started Russia fired cruises missiles at Ukrainian airbases, many of the missiles hit inconsequential areas or flat out missed, and no follow up attacks happened. That gave Ukraine time to move aircraft to operate of highways and unimproved airfields. Russia would rather launch its limited stocks of IRBMs and cruise missiles at civilians rather than proper military targets. Which raises the question is Russian reconnaissance, intelligence, and targeting so bad their air force could not target significant tactical or operational Ukrainian military targets with longer ranged guided weapons if they had enough of them to use. Also, given the hard trolling this threat is getting,

A+ for being over the target.