THAT’Ukraine the country is increasingly similar to Western countries such as the former Soviet Union, even from a military perspective. With the start of the Russian invasion, Kiev began to renew its air force, increasingly inspired by its NATO allies and definitively abandoning the old Russian production, which was so outdated that it was difficult to find spare parts. But aviation is still the center of attention in Russia.
The more F-16s there are, the fewer Mig-29s
What influenced the renewal of Ukrainian military aircraft, undoubtedly, was the material assistance received from NATO countries. Whereas previously the air force consisted mainly of Mig-29s, Su-27s, Su-24s and Su-25s, now their numbers are greatly reduced and Soviet jets have been replaced by Western-made products, such as the F-16s that NATO countries are starting to deliver from the summer of 2024. The proportions are quite clear: compared to the 95 F-16s that arrived, there are less than 50 Mig-29s left. And now with the deals Zelensky made during his European ‘tour’ to call for new aid, this number will continue to grow.
Why Ukraine abandoned Soviet jets
But major changes occurred in the final years of the war, when replacement of damaged jets became unsustainable and spare parts were hard to find: at the beginning of the invasion there were still some spare materials in Poland or Slovakia, as well as in the former Soviet countries where Mig-29s, for example, replenished air force bases. But the supplies ran out. Additionally, the Russian jets are not equipped with US missiles, which would be necessary to take full advantage of Western assistance. There is no other alternative: the Ukrainian air force, to truly break away from Putin, must adapt to Western standards and change everything at its disposal. An event that also has a symbolic meaning: it fully illustrates Ukraine’s steps closer to the Western model, in all fields.
Zelensky’s tour of Europe: the NATO model
The Ukrainian air force is destined to approach the NATO model, also from a military point of view. On October 25 they signed an agreement with Sweden, which will supply up to 150 Gripen multirole fighters starting in the next few months. Yesterday a historic agreement with France: Macron will buy up to 100 Rafale fighters for Ukraine over the next ten years, which will replace the Mirage 2000s that Paris has delivered. An agreement that greatly disturbed the Kremlin which commented, through its spokesman Dmitri Peskov: «Unfortunately, Paris does not contribute anything to the cause of peace, currently they are busy fomenting militaristic and pro-war sentiments».
And finally, today, the announcement from the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sanchéz: «I conveyed to President Zelenzky that Spain will mobilize a military aid package for Ukraine of 615 million euros next month. This will include the delivery of new defense equipment, worth around 300 million euros and as part of our bilateral agreement, which commits another billion euros this year in security matters.” The details of the agreement are not yet known, but it is inevitable that the defense equipment that Spain will send will be similar to what Madrid already has, namely completely of the NATO model.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
