Ukrainian Air Force explains how air defense survived initial Russian strikes
Illustrative photo: Ukraine's Air Force explained how it managed to preserve air defense after the first Russian strikes (Getty Images)
In the first hours of the full-scale war, Russian attacks were mostly directed at Ukraine's air defense. High maneuverability allowed the Defense Forces to hold off the superior enemy, says Colonel Denys Smazhnyi, an officer of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, the first Russian attacks at the beginning of the full-scale war were carried out against the positions of anti-aircraft missile units, radio engineering troops, and Ukrainian airfields. Because of this, the enemy had the illusion that all these assets had been destroyed.
“Doctrinally, all leading armies in the world state that air defense should be suppressed first before launching ground and air operations. However, the Russians decided to act on all fronts simultaneously: in the first hours and days, they tried to destroy our air defense while simultaneously starting a ground operation. This is one of the reasons why the enemy failed to achieve its ambitious goals,” he explained.
Smazhnyi added that thanks to the high maneuverability and dispersion of all forces and means the Defense Forces managed to survive the first attack and preserve their potential. After regrouping, they managed to restrain the superior enemy in all directions and prevented the Russians from gaining air dominance.
Air Force Command officer Smazhnyi also said that enemy aircraft flew deeper into Ukraine in the first weeks of the full-scale war. But the enemy suffered serious losses due to its own propaganda.
