It’s a troublesome opponent for counterattacks, but the supply of F-16s may change the war situation completely
The provision of F-16s has become indispensable (The photo shows the two F-16s flying in formation with F-35A Lightning II = upper right two aircraft, taken on the west coast of South Korea on July 28, from the U.S. Air Force website)
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Before going into the main topic, I will summarize the reports of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and others about what is happening on the battlefield in Ukraine now.
In the ground battles on the Eastern Front, Russian ground forces are launching localized offensives.
On the southern front, such as the Zaporizhia front, Ukrainian ground forces are slowly regaining key points on the battlefield as they attempt to break through Russian defenses.
In front of Kherson on the Southern Front, a small group of Ukrainian special forces and others boarded boats, crossed the Dnieper River, and infiltrated Russian positions.
And we are building three small bridgeheads for future river crossing operations.
In conjunction with these operations, the Crimean Great Bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula with mainland Russia, and two bridges connecting the Crimean peninsula and Zaporizhia Oblast, which serve as rear communication lines, have been partially destroyed.
In addition, long-range cruise missiles have destroyed ammunition and fuel facilities, training facilities, and weapons storage facilities in areas occupied by Russia, which serve as logistics points for ammunition and troops.
For the Ukrainian military, the situation is not as expected.
Counterattacks by front-line ground forces on the battlefield are met with resistance in the defensive lines of Russian ground forces, slowing the recapture of key points on the battlefield and causing losses.
The reason for this, besides the defensive preparation of the Russian military, is one major change in the way the Russian Air Force fights.
Russian Air Force fighters and attack helicopters shifted their focus from urban strikes to close air support (ground attack support: attacking targets on the battlefield).
Specifically, Russian fighter jets and attack helicopters are providing ground attack support from outside the Ukrainian air defense network.
The extent of damage to the Ukrainian military as a result has not been reported in detail.
However, it is safe to assume that there was considerable damage from missiles and bombs by fighter planes. Moreover, the current situation is that the Russian military fighters have not been able to get their hands on it.
Therefore, we will consider the impact on the Ukrainian military and the expectations of the Ukrainian military due to the change in the fighting style of the Russian Air Force.
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2023-08-15 21:00:00
