Fueling speculation
10 days, 10 kills: Russian air force is bleeding
The Ukrainian air force is having a hard time in the defensive battle against Russia, which has now been going on for two years, as the invaders are clearly superior in the air. In recent days, however, the Ukrainian air force has recorded unusual successes. This is fueling speculation about the deployment of Western fighter jets in the war zone.
The Russian air force has recently bled a lot of blood in Ukraine: over a period of ten days, Ukraine was able to take ten Russian fighter jets out of the sky. These included several Su-34 fighter-bombers. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian defenders were able to shoot down two of these fighter jets in one day.
The shooting down of an A-50 reconnaissance aircraft last Friday was a particularly sensitive blow for the Russians. Russia only has seven other operational aircraft of this model.
Dozens of combat drones also taken out of the sky
In addition to the destroyed fighter jets, numerous kamikaze drones were also rendered harmless. On Wednesday night, for example, all ten Shahed drones that Russia fired at Ukrainian targets were taken out of the sky. According to the air force, they were successfully intercepted over the Odessa and Mykolaiv regions by army mobile fire commandos and air force anti-aircraft missile units. A fire in Odessa caused by the wreckage of a destroyed drone was extinguished immediately.
The shooting down of an A-50 aircraft, probably by a surface-to-air missile, is remarkable because a Russian aircraft of this type had only been destroyed in January. According to British military intelligence, this shows Russia's inability to protect valuable aircraft. However, Ukraine demonstrates how quickly it can adapt and shows that it continues to pose a threat to the Russian armed forces.
Speculation about F-16 deployment
Ukraine's unusual successes are fueling speculation as to whether Western F-16 fighter jets are already in use in the war zone. In an interview with ntv.de, Austrian army colonel Markus Reisner believes this is possible. In the past, weapons systems have already been deployed before the actual announcement. At present, however, there is still "no visible evidence" of Western combat aircraft in Ukraine, Reisner emphasizes.
Several countries want to hand over F-16s to Ukraine as soon as Ukrainian pilots have completed their training in Denmark and Romania. Exactly when this will be is being kept under wraps. Just a few days ago, the Ukrainian air force shared a video of the training in Denmark on Facebook. "We are doing everything we can to ensure that the Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 appear in the Ukrainian skies as quickly as possible," the message read.
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