Andrei Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said that Russia had accumulated about 450 tactical aircraft and 300 helicopters near Ukraine, half of them attack helicopters.
These planes and helicopters are stationed in Russia, no less than 200 km from the border. According to him, the occupiers deployed aircraft at such a distance not to fall under the fire of HIMARS.
Yusov excludes the possibility of the simultaneous use of this aircraft, and a massive air strike on Ukraine is unlikely.
In an interview with the Kyiv Post, Yusov clarified that the latest assessments of military threats to Ukraine’s security do not indicate that Russia plans to use all these aircraft simultaneously for a massive air attack. But they can be used to support an offensive in eastern Ukraine, primarily in the Donbass.
An air attack on Kyiv is unlikely, he stressed.
The Russian army has increased the number of sorties over the past week after several relatively quiet weeks. British intelligence notes this in its morning summary on February 16.
In general, Russian aviation is still lagging behind in this war due to the containment of Ukrainian air defense and dispersed basing due to threats of attacks on Russian airfields.
Russian aircraft operate almost exclusively over Russian-held territory, intelligence notes.
Source: Racurs
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