UK Defense Ministry: Russian air force conducts substantially fewer attacks in Ukraine
Russian tactical combat aircraft currently carry out tens of missions per day over Ukraine in comparison with up to 300 per day in March, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Dec. 5.
“The decrease in sorties is likely a result of a continued high threat from Ukrainian air defenses, limitations on the flying hours available to Russian aircraft, and worsening weather,” reads the report.
As Russia’s ground attack tactics mostly depend on visual identification and unguided munitions, its air force will likely keep a low pace of such attack operations due to poor winter weather, according to the ministry.
Russia has lost more than 60 fixed-wing aircraft in its full-scale war against Ukraine, “likely including an additional Su-24M fighter-bomber and a Su-25 ground attack aircraft last week,” the U.K. officials added.
The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Dec. 2 that the logistical challenges Russian troops had faced after their retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast had exacerbated Russia’s deficit of munitions, which limits its potential to continue offensive operations.
