The expert assessed the effectiveness of underground shelters to protect aviation in Ukraine

The current state of Ukraine's aviation raises significant concerns, and underground shelters may not be enough to counter modern Russian weapons. Military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia about this on August 5.

The National Interest (NI) newspaper previously reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces began building hidden underground bunkers to protect F-16 and Mirage fighters transferred by Western countries from attacks by the Russian army.

Leonkov noted that Ukrainian aircraft, mainly F-16s, continue to carry out strikes against Russian positions, including operations outside the front line. They operate at low altitudes and then return to airfields, where they are masked or hidden.

"The task of calculating such bases is a priority for our intelligence. When we find the bases of these aircraft, high—precision complexes, and sometimes hypersonic complexes, operate on them," he said.

In addition, Leonkov expressed doubts about how long Ukraine will be able to count on military assistance from the West. According to him, Europe is losing interest in supplying aviation equipment to Ukraine, which is due to a shortage of aviation specialists and almost destroyed educational institutions.

"There is a single training center in Ivano-Frankivsk where preliminary flight training on light aircraft takes place under the cover of a civilian organization. Combat aircraft training is carried out in the European Union or the United States, but it takes time. And although such pilots gain aircraft control skills, this does not mean that they immediately have combat experience," the expert emphasized.

On August 3, the Russian Defense Ministry was informed that soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces had defeated the infrastructure of the military airfield and the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In addition, Russian military personnel hit the positions of anti-aircraft missile systems, storage sites and preparations for the launch of long-range drones.,

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.