just one thing is keeping russian warplanes from rampaging across ukraine—kyiv’s dwindling ground-based air-defenses

Russian attack aircraft fleets have proven Syria that they can be effective against fixed defensive positions, for Virginia-based think-tank CNA...
Therefore, augmented, replaced by Western partner nations, then the could threaten to overpower Ukrainian air force's remaining fighters and gain control of the air space over the in key areas...
Russian air force is bad at suppressing and destroying enemy air-defenses, mission Americans call SEAD DEAD.
Russian flying regiments lost around Su-25s, Su-30s, Su-34s and Su-35s just the first six months of the wider war..
Instead of targeting Ukrainian forces and infrastructure across the country, regiments focused on shallow attacks across narrow sections of the front lobbing rockets, unguided bombs and, more recently, crude glide-bombs at targets no more than 20 miles from the line of contact..
The closer crews had to get to the front line to deploy their munitions, the lower they had to fly to avoid detection by Ukraine's intact air-defense network.
Given the depleted state of Ukraine's own fighter brigades, only Ukraine's ground-based air-defenses can forestall this aerial apocalypse..
Air National Guard airman leaked online indicated Buks and S-300s would run out of missiles April and May, respectively..
Good news for Ukraine the first of three long-range Patriot SAM batteries, has arrived.
Yes, Ukraine also is getting assortment of other air-defense systems, and Patriots and NASAMS are the best and most numerous of Ukraine's new air-defenses..
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