Among the great surprises of the war in Ukraine is that Russia’s air force – the second largest in the world – has been unable to establish dominance of the skies over a modest, largely Soviet-era Ukrainian fleet.
More than four years into the conflict, that goal seems further away than ever as Russia continues to suffer losses of its most advanced and valuable warplanes, and Ukraine steadily builds up a patchwork of Western combat aircraft.
Kyiv is launching ever more audacious strikes deep inside Russia against key airfields that house its strategic bombers and other military aircraft. Last weekend, the Ukrainian military said a drone hit the Engels military airbase in the Saratov region, around 373 miles (600km) from the border.
Shorts
The airfield is one of the main bases for Russia’s strategic aviation, housing Tu-95MS and Tu-160 bombers, which Moscow regularly uses to launch missile attacks against Ukraine.
