Russia could be preparing for a huge aerial assault on Ukraine in a bid to “overwhelm” their air defence and shift the tide of the war, an expert has said.
General Sir Richard Barrons told the Daily Star how, despite Russia seemingly being incredibly slow to learn from its own mistakes in Ukraine, one thing that could be about to change was its approach to air power.
As we mark one year of the war in the European nation, and with huge losses mounting on both sides, Russia may be forced to take a new approach to stop the repeated humiliations it has suffered.
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Former Commander Joint Forces Command Sir General Barrons explained that, to date, Ukrainian air defences had been the superior combatant in the control of the skies, but now there is reason to believe that Russia is going to try and overwhelm them.
Sir Richard felt that the aerial attack would probably come at some point during the newly launched Russian spring offensive, which for “certain” has “opened”.
He told the Star: “The only thing that is different right now is the sense that Russia is massing, a lot of aircraft within range of Ukraine.
“Both fixed-wing and attack helicopters. And it may be that when they get to the right moment in this offensive we'll see a much bigger play of their Air Force.”
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He said that this was despite the fact that the Russian Air Force has not been very evident in the invasion so far, but this believed to be because of the strength of the Ukrainian air defence.
Sir Richard said that as well as planes and helicopters, the offence would be supported by other kinds of airborne weapons.
He added: “They may be about to try using a combination of a lot of missiles and the supply of the Iranian [suicide] drones can overwhelm Ukrainian Air Defence and make a difference on the ground.
“But we don't know. The first thing for certain is the Russian offensive has opened. The second thing is Ukrainians are not surprised by this and are expecting it.”
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