It’s uncommon for Russian and Ukrainian narratives war to concur. But since Ukraine began its major counteroffensive in June, both countries agree that Russia’s tactical airpower poses a growing problem for Ukraine’s ground forces. That may seem surprising given the general arc of the conflict, in which Russia’s qualitatively and quantitatively superior tactical air force (the VKS) has proven unable or unwilling to execute strikes deep into Ukrainian airspace—largely due to Ukraine’s extensive Soviet-era ground-based air defenses, now reinforced by more modern Western weapons.Indeed, Russian airpower hasn’t prevented Ukraine’s counteroffensive from creeping forward several miles along three or four main...