US Air Force General said on September 19, 2022, that Russia had never been able to set up air priority over Ukraine. Ukraine’s air defence have shot down about 55 Russian fighter plant since the start of the war.
Source: US Air Force General James Hecker
Russia was aware of Ukraine’s air defence, but its initial strikes in February failed to eliminate them, including surface-to-air missiles.
After six months of the war, Russian aircraft have ceased to fly deep into Ukraine, and instead fire long-range missiles at Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.
“When they tried to take their fighters and their aircraft inside those [Ukrainian – ed.] missile engagement zones, they were shot down. Roughly about 55 Russian fighters have been shot down by the integrated air and missile defence for Ukraine,” summed up Gen. James Hecker.
Earlier, according to the British Ministry of Defence, Russia has lost 55 combat aircraft since the beginning of the war. Four of these were “highly probable” losses in the last 10 days.
See also: Ukrainian counteroffensive causes panic in the Russian army, – ISW
