russian aviation decreases attacks due to Ukraine's strong air defense – UK intelligence
British intelligence believes that russia's air force decreased attacks due to the high threat from Ukraine's air defense.
This is stated in the intelligence summary of the UK Ministry of Defense on Monday.
The summary notes that in recent months, the number of russian tactical combat aircraft flights over Ukraine has significantly decreased. Today, russian aircraft are likely to make dozens of daily departures, while in March 2022, their number reached 300 per day.
"Russia has now lost over 60 fixed-wing aircraft in the conflict, likely including an additional Su-24M FENCER fighter-bomber and a Su-25 FROGFOOT ground attack aircraft last week.
The decrease in sorties is likely a result of continued high threat from Ukrainian air defenses, limitations on the flying hours available to Russian aircraft, and worsening weather," the review said.
As russian ground attack tactics rely heavily on visual identification and unguided munitions, the russian air force is likely to keep a low level of ground attacks in bad winter weather, according to British intelligence.
The day before, British intelligence reported that it would be increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to maintain approval of the war among russians.
"Recent polling suggests that Russian public support for the 'special military operation' is falling significantly. An independent Russian media outlet has claimed access to data collected by Russia's Federal Protective Service for internal use. The data indicated 55 percent of Russians favor peace talks with Ukraine, with only 25 percent claiming to support continuing the conflict," the review stated.
The UK intelligence also reported that Ukrainian recruits training on UK soil are being sent back with equipment to help them on the frontline. As they return to Ukraine to fight for their freedom and survive, kit items include helmets, body armor, sleeping bags, and cold weather kit.
