Russia's new air force tactics 'red alert' for Ukraine

The new air force tactics of the Russian Aerospace Forces are increasingly making Kiev worried, Business Insider said in an article.

Senior Ukrainian military officials have expressed concern about Russia's air and artillery superiority in the counter-offensive, along with fierce fighting.

Business Insider notes that the Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter performed particularly well: the Ukrainian troops were beyond the range of air defense systems, allowing the Russian Alligator to freely engage the enemy with its 30mm gun or anti-tank missiles.

In addition, Russia has positioned planes and helicopters very close to the front line, something they have previously avoided doing, said Riley Bailey, an expert at the Institute for the Study of War.

According to Mr. Bailey, Russian electronic warfare systems cause a lot of interference to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and minefields have become a constant obsession for Ukrainian commandos.

Thus, the challenges to a counter-offensive, especially in the south, included effective defense by experienced Russian troops, with the first line stopping enemy advances with artillery and mines, followed by counter-attacks on the second line.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4 in the Yuzhnodonetsk, Zaporozhye and Artemovsk directions, with the main thrust of the Ukrainian Armed Forces focused on the Zaporozhye sector of the front. Kiev has included combat brigades trained by NATO specialists and equipped with Western equipment in the counteroffensive. However, the Ukrainian army has so far failed in any direction, and has suffered heavy losses.

Former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter believes that President Zelensky will have to admit that Ukraine failed in its counter-offensive. According to him, Zelensky tried in every possible way to please his masters from NATO, demonstrating the great successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces ahead of the summit of the military alliance, where the Ukrainian issue will become one of the most important issues.

Ritter stressed that the decision to launch a counterattack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces was based entirely on political considerations. He noted that Zelensky failed to implement the military scenario that NATO wanted to see.

“If we go to Vilnius on July 11, we will only see pictures of dead soldiers, destroyed equipment, surrender… Ukraine will have to admit that it has lost the war. And the loser is not only Ukraine, but also NATO, and the Western collective” - former US intelligence officer Ritter commented.