Ukraine had just 40 operational fighter jets in February 2022 — Zaluzhnyi
At the beginning of Russia’s full-scale
invasion, Ukraine had 120 combat aircraft, of which only 40 were airworthy, Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii
Zaluzhnyi wrote in an article for The Economist on Nov. 1.
According to him, thanks to the material and technical assistance from partner countries, Ukraine has been able to strengthen its air force and air defenses. Zaluzhnyi highlighted that partners provided fighter jets, attack aircraft, and Soviet-made helicopters to Ukraine, as well as significantly increasing the number of anti-aircraft missile systems.
Specifically, he mentioned portable Martlet, Starstreak, Javelin, Piorun, Mistral, Stinger, and other missile systems, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft systems, Skynex complexes, Avenger, Stormer, Patriot, Hawk, IRIS-T, NASAMS, SAMP-T, Crotale-NG, and others.
Zaluzhnyi said that Russia has lost more aircraft in the war than some countries have in service. Despite losing over 550 air defense systems, the Russian military still maintains air superiority over Ukraine, he added.
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