All language subtitles for 28-12-2023-dfxdfgxgfeeee

Russian tactical aviation in Ukraine lost the
feeling of a safe rear area towards the end of

2023 and in December 2023 suffered some of the
heaviest losses in a very short period of time.

The AFU General Staff reported that Russia lost
46 combat aircraft in Ukraine in 2023 alone,

without accounting for friendly fire
incidents, crashes on Russian territory,

and unexplained occurrences at
Russian airfields in the rear area.

Initially, in the first days after the invasion,
the Russian command claimed full control of the

airspace over Ukraine, stating that Ukrainian
air defense had been neutralized. However,

by the end of 2023, it became perilous for
Russian aviation not only to stay in the

airspace of the occupied territories but
also in their own and on their airfields.

The end of 2023 changes the balance of
power in the airspace, in which Russian

aviation used its virtually limitless
stockpile of guided bombs in non-stop

mode with minimal risks for both pilots and
the machines themselves. This factor not

only restrained the advances of the Ukrainian
defense forces but also allowed Russian forces

to advance more effectively, especially
in the Bakhmut and now Avdiivka areas.

But the loss of several planes at
once within one week forces the

Russian command to urgently reconsider
the strategy of using tactical aviation.

What is important is that so far there
has been no official information about

how Russian aircraft were shot down
deep in the occupied territories,

or over the Black Sea. It is unlikely that it will
appear in the near future, because it is not in

the interests of the Ukrainian army to disclose
exactly what means are used to counter Russian

aircraft. In turn, Russian profile platforms
and propagandists express their versions.

The most popular assumptions
are the use of Patriot SAMs,

as well as the appearance of F-16 fighters
in Ukraine earlier than previously announced.

In general, both versions have
a right to life. For example,

the range of Patriot missile defense targets
depends on the modification of missiles,

for example, MIM-104D it leaves 160 km,
which is fully consistent with the depth

of the rear of the temporarily occupied Kherson
region, where the Russian Su-34 were shot down.

Similarly, the F-16 could well
have used air-to-air missiles,

which with the support of
long-range radar detection

aircraft, can effectively hit targets at
distances of more than 100 kilometers.

But again, these are only versions. Versions
that confirm that the Russian Air Forces did

not have full control of the airspace in Ukraine,
and still do not have it, and even more, by the

end of 2023 it became unsafe for them to operate
even over the temporarily occupied territories.

In 2023, the actions of Ukrainian
maritime drones forced the Russian

Black Sea Fleet to flee Crimea. It is
possible that in 2024 Russian aviation

will be forced to completely redeploy to the
territory of Russia itself, and it is not

a fact that the close rear area for Russian
Aerospace Forces will also be safe for them.