Recent events in Ukraine have caused serious concern and indignation in connection with the strike by the Russian Federation on the airfield in Myrhorod.
A few days ago, a Russian drone spotted six Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jets parked in the open sky at the Myrhorod Air Base in northern Ukraine, 100 miles from the Russian border.
The Russian Iskander ballistic missile hit the target, destroying two supersonic fighters, which is potentially five percent of Ukraine's entire Su-27 fleet, Forbes reports.
A similar situation occurred the day after this tragedy, when a Russian drone flew over the Ukrainian air base in Poltava, also 100 miles from the border. After several hours of observation, the "Iskander" missile hit the Mi-24 combat helicopter of the Ukrainian army.
As the publication notes, it is obvious that the lack of air defense makes Ukrainian air bases vulnerable to Russian strikes by drones and missiles. Russian attacks on Ukrainian bases have been intensifying since last fall, resulting in the destruction of two Su-27 fighters, two MiG-29s, one Su-25 attack aircraft and a probable Mi-24.
"The losses are heavy for the Ukrainian Air Force and Army Aviation Brigades. The Air Force has only a few dozen aircraft, and no source to replace them. The army has about 50 Mi-24s, but it will also be difficult to replenish them," the publication emphasized.
According to his information, Ukraine plans to receive 85 F-16 aircraft from Lockheed Martin and about a dozen Dassault Mirage 2000 from European allies. However, these new planes will be just as vulnerable on the ground as Ukrainian planes.
The publication writes about the crisis in the air defense of Ukraine. Journalists note that the Ukrainians protect their most important bases with surface-to-air missiles, but now they are forced to simultaneously cover cities, large concentrations of troops and front-line bases such as Myrhorod and Poltava.
The numbers show the scale of the problem. The Ukrainian army and air force started the war with about 400 anti-aircraft missile systems. In 28 months, they lost about 140 of these systems, receiving about a hundred in replacement.
The journalists note that theoretically the Ukrainians reduced only 10 percent of their pre-war air defense forces. But their strength is much less than it was before February 2022.
At the same time, the President's Office is trying to downplay the losses that Ukraine has suffered. "All the speakers on the bait in OP downplay the scale of the losses. Almost like half-brothers, they began to behave in all respects in order to cover up betrayal and incompetence in the highest echelons of power," noted Iryna Mir on Facebook.
