Russian aviation was victim of its own propaganda, Ukraine's Air Force colonel Smazhnyi
Illustrative photo: Russian aviation was a victim of its own propaganda at the war beginning (Russian media)
Russian aviation was most active in penetrating deep into Ukraine during the first weeks of the full-scale war, but it became a victim of its own propaganda, says the officer of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Denys Smazhnyi, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
As Smazhnyi explained, the enemy's aviation tried to penetrate deep into Ukraine at the beginning of the full-scale war. This was mainly due to Russian propaganda, as spokespeople for the Russian Armed Forces reported that supposedly all of Ukraine's air defense had been destroyed.
According to the officer, the enemy resorted to bold attempts to fly over Ukraine. There were cases when Russian aviation reached places like Myrhorod and Zolotonosha. In particular, enemy pilots were shot down near Vasylkiv.
"Russian pilots made their most active attempts to penetrate deep into Ukrainian territory in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion when the occupiers aimed to capture Kyiv and advance deep into the Kharkiv region. Thanks to the active efforts of our air defense and, without exaggeration, the heroism of our anti-aircraft gunners and fighter pilots, we managed to inflict heavy losses on Russian aviation and drive it out of our airspace," he added.
After suffering significant losses, Russian pilots began refusing to carry out missions, and as Smazhnyi noted, about two months after the beginning of the full-scale war, the enemy's aviation ceased to enter the reach of Ukrainian surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs).
As of February 2024, then spokesperson for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yurii Ihnat, mentioned that Russia had approximately 1,500 aircraft at that time, with some older ones kept in storage.
According to data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the Defense Forces have destroyed:
- aircraft: 370;
- helicopters: 331.
