Ukrainian defenders have recently shot down or disabled a number of russian aircraft. Thanks to this, Ukraine creates conditions for the use of F-16 aircraft, which it will soon receive from the West.
This was stated by the Chief of Staff of the Estonian Air Force, Colonel Janek Lehiste, writes the ERR portal.
Thus, Lehiste noted that the situation on the front line has become more active and the initiative is rather in the hands of russian troops. According to him, the aggressor country of russia has somewhat changed its tactics, using fire support from the air to advance.
"They discovered that with fire support from the air, with the help of aircraft, the desired effect can be increased many times over, since attack aircraft, lifting or dropping bombs weighing about half a ton, can cause great damage to the defense lines," the Colonel explained.
According to Lehiste, russia is risking its planes by flying closer to the battle line.
"As a result, the Ukrainians were able to shoot down about 13 planes in February," he clarified.
According to the military, Ukraine uses both long- and medium-range air defense systems to shoot down russian planes, especially the Patriot system, which has a range of 150 kilometers.
Lehiste noted that by decommissioning russian aircraft, Ukraine can prepare for the deployment of its own new aircraft. According to information available to the military, Ukraine may receive F-16 fighter jets from the West in early spring or summer.
"Of course, you can look at it from the point of view that they are creating the conditions to accommodate their new aircraft. Perhaps they are also creating the conditions so that at a certain point in time and in a certain geographical area, air superiority can be achieved," Lehiste stressed.
According to Lehiste, there is no need to make significant changes to the infrastructure of Ukraine for the placement of F-16 fighter jets.
"Apparently, it won't require any major changes, and it won't require building a new runway. Of course, there are some requirements regarding the condition of the runway. In that sense, the F-16 is more capricious to any bumps and foreign objects aircraft, but otherwise there are no particular differences from other aircraft. They can be deployed with the existing infrastructure," he explained.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the head of the intelligence center of the Estonian Defense Forces, Ants Kiviselg, said that the russian occupation forces still hold the initiative on the battlefield in Ukraine and are trying to increase the pace of their operations.
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