"The lives of Russian pilots are just a handful of bargaining chips for Moscow," said the Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, during a briefing at the Military Media Center.
In connection with the complication of the logistical support of the enemy's artillery units on the right bank of the Dnieper, an increase in the use of enemy tactical and army aviation, which performs its flights mainly from the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, is noted.
"However, the defense forces of Ukraine "grounded" 4 airplanes and 9 helicopters of the occupiers during the week," — reported Oleksii Hromov. — "Russian pilots are afraid to fly into the area of ​​our air defense, so the number of downed enemy aircraft is relatively small."
He noted that, in general, during the large-scale aggression, the defenders of Ukraine destroyed twice as many Russian aircraft as were lost by the Soviet Union during the 10-year war in Afghanistan — 278 Russian aircraft in Ukraine against 118 Soviet aircraft in Afghanistan.
"So this war for Russian pilots is already twice as bad as Afghanistan in terms of losses, and this is significant," said the representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. — After our victory, no one in Russia will remember these victims and mutilations, except for the pilots themselves. This so-called special military operation, except for the Russian political and military leadership, is not needed by anyone - just as the Afghan war ended in disgrace and became one of the reasons for the collapse of the Soviet Union, so this war will end in disgrace and become the cause of the collapse of the Russian Federation. And the hundreds of lives of military pilots of the Russian Federation are just a handful of bargaining chips for Moscow, as before."
