Why Russia is Running out of Airplanes

Airpower should have been Putin’s biggest advantage in Ukraine.

When Putin’s invasion began in February of 2022, most experts assumed that Russia’s praised air force would be able to quickly take down Ukrainian air defenses, and gain a decisive early advantage in the conflict.

But these predictions proved to be completely wrong.

In more than a year of war, Russia has utterly failed to establish air superiority, while managing to lose staggering quantities of its jets and other assets. In fact, the situation is so bad that earlier this month, one pro-Russian blogger on Telegram stated that the country’s air force has engaged in “complete idiocy” and is “detached from reality.”