Russia may rely on air power in decisive battles, so Ukraine must strengthen its air defense forces

Politico reported on the situation.

"Although the Russian capabilities — the land forces — are very demoralized, very, very ragged, very depleted, the Russians still have a pretty significant air force," said a senior US administration official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

The official added that they are moving them to the borders, removing them from long-term storage sites.

The official noted that Russia is "clearly … preparing for some type of offensive," pointing to "mass mobilization" and "some prepositioning of air assets" as 2 key indicators.

At the same time, when asked about Moscow's plans, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin acknowledged Russia's capabilities but downplayed concerns about any imminent air campaign.

"In terms of whether or not Russia is massing its aircraft for some massive aerial attack, we don’t currently see that," Austin said at a press conference in Brussels.

But he added that Russia has a significant number of aircraft at its disposal and many capabilities.

“That's why,” Austin said, “we’ve emphasized that we need to do everything that we can to get Ukraine as much air defense capability as we possibly can.”

He also noted that "Ukraine has done an incredible job of intercepting a lot of the rockets and missiles," and that Kyiv's partners are doing everything they can to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself if Russia does engage its air force.

“They haven’t done so thus far,” he added, "because Ukraine’s air defenses have been pretty gosh darn effective.”

Experts note that the first days of the war were difficult for Russian aviation, which is why Moscow limited the use of military aircraft in Ukrainian airspace.

But now, a senior administration official said, the fact that Russian ground forces are exhausted is "the best indication that they will turn this into an air fight."

• Earlier, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that the 9th meeting in the Ramstein format resulted in confirmation of more air defense systems, tanks, artillery and shells for Ukraine.