In the absence of new tranches of military aid from the United States and the European Union, there is growing concern in Ukraine that Ukrainian servicemen and military and industrial facilities could be exposed to Russian airstrikes, the Financial Times has reported.
Amid Russia’s intensified campaign of strikes on energy infrastructure and other targets in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky urged Western allies to approve new military aid packages to bolster Kiev’s depleted air defence capabilities. Zelensky said air defence assets are insufficient both on the battlefield and to defend targets in Ukrainian cities.
Kiev admits that Russia “controls the sky”. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces hope that Ukraine’s receipt of US-made F-16 fighter jets will put an end to the dominance of the Russian air force and help resume the counter-offensive, which has so far failed to achieve any significant successes.