On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. Coming after years of tensions following Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea and thinly veiled direct armed support for separatists fighting in Donbass and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, observers gave Ukraine’s military little chance of surviving the initial Russian onslaught. Yet the Russian forces failed to deliver a decisive blow in the opening air or ground campaign. Volume 6 of War in Ukraine examines the air war between Russia and Ukraine during February and March of 2022.
In order to explain the failures of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS) in the opening moves of this war, this volume undertakes a detailed examination of the history, technology and doctrine of the Soviet and Russian air forces from the late Cold War up to the eve of the 2022 invasion, along with the opposing air force and ground-based anti-air defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Zbroiynyhsyl Ukrayini, ZSU).
Building upon the general account of the opening moves of this conflict contained in Volume 2 of War in Ukraine, this volume presents a detailed account of the successes and failures of each side in their use of air power and how this impacted upon the ground campaign.
War in Ukraine: Volume 6 The Air War February-March 2022 is illustrated throughout with full color photographs, specially commissioned maps, and the @War series’ signature color artworks showing the aircraft of this ongoing conflict.