In War for Ukraine, Neither Side Controls the Skies but Russia Has Lost 55 Planes; The Ragtag Army That Won the Battle of Kyiv and Saved Ukraine; Russia Military Company Trying to Recruit 1,500 Felons for Ukraine War; The Occupiers Set Dates for Fake Referendums, LIVE UPDATES and MORE
WSJ: In War for Ukraine, Neither Side Controls the Skies but Russia Has Lost 55 Planes:
Ukraine has shot down 55 Russian planes during the nearly seven-month conflict, precluding Moscow from achieving air superiority, the top U.S. Air Force commander for Europe said Monday.
But Ukraine’s small air force lacks the capability to seize control, creating a situation in which the two sides are embroiled in a prolonged casualty-producing struggle on the ground, according to Gen. James Hecker, who commands the U.S. Air Force in Europe and Africa.
“That’s what’s playing out in Ukraine right now. A lot of casualties because there’s not air superiority on either side of the house,” said Gen. Hecker, providing a rare public look at the struggle for control of the skies over Ukraine.
When Russia began its attack on Ukraine in February, there were expectations among many U.S. officials that Moscow would make quick gains on the ground and establish air dominance.
The Russian military’s failure to do so was a topic at the annual conference of the Air and Space Forces Association, which brings together senior Air Force officials from around the world
Russia’s air force stumbled from the start when it failed to destroy Ukraine’s air defenses and its aircraft were shot down by Ukraine’s SA-10 and SA-11 surface-air missile systems, Gen Hecker said. That prompted the Russians to adjust their tactics by firing long-range cruise missiles from bombers flying over Russian territory and beyond the range of Ukraine’s air defenses. —>READ MORE HERE
WSJ: The Ragtag Army That Won the Battle of Kyiv and Saved Ukraine:
Citizen volunteers teamed up with soldiers to turn the tide in the most consequential European battle since World War II
Outside the Giraffe shopping mall on the western edge of Ukraine’s capital, a group of locals prepared to meet the Russian armored column thundering their way.
It was late February, and the Russians, from an elite airborne unit, were riding atop their vehicles, as if expecting a warm greeting. One wore a Cossack woolen hat instead of a helmet. Another hadn’t loaded his rifle.
The few dozen Ukrainians from the towns of Irpin and Bucha had other intentions, which they had written on the cement mixer and bulldozer that blocked the road: “Welcome to hell.”
After Russia launched an all-out invasion on Feb. 24, a 32-year-old Ukrainian city council member and solar-power entrepreneur named Volodymyr Korotya had led preparations for a fighting stand. The men were brandishing a grab bag of weapons, including pump-action shotguns and a handful of rocket-propelled grenades. Many were dressed in jeans, and few had body armor. Around half of their number, which included a psychotherapist, a firefighter and a bus driver, had never fought before.
“Look what I do and do the same,” Mr. Korotya, who had seen combat during his time in the Ukrainian army, told the new recruits.
As a vanguard of a dozen armored vehicles rumbled over the bridge between Bucha and Irpin and began to climb the hill toward them, the Ukrainians opened fire.
After a fierce three-hour battle, the Russian vehicles were destroyed or abandoned, and the soldiers were dead or in retreat. The Ukrainians set off across the bridge to finish off the rest of the column. —>READ MORE HERE
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