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Su-35S jet fighter of the Russian Air Force taking off, Kubinka, Russia.
Su-35S jet fighter of the Russian Air Force taking off, Kubinka, Russia.Artyom Anikeev/Stocktrek Images via Getty Images
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  • The Russians can fire cruise missles from their planes on the Russia side of the border without fear of being attacked by the Ukrainian air defenses.

  • A senior US defense official said that Ukraine has about 56 operational jets.

The Pentagon says some Russian jets are avoiding Ukrainian airspace to avoid being shot at.

A senior US defense official told reporters that the Pentagon assesses that Russia is flying about 200 sorties a day, but some never enter the air space of Ukraine. Russian planes on the Russian side of the border are able to fire missiles at Ukraine.

It was assumed by defense analysts that Russia would gain air superiority during its invasion of Ukraine, but the ground forces have struggled to take major cities in the face of stalwart Ukraine fighters.

Russian air superiority fighters like the Su-35 were expected to attack Ukrainian aircraft as it moved its own SAM systems into it. Russia failed to do so and the Ukrainian air force has downed Russian planes.

Russian commanders are aware of the risks posed by air defenses and shoulder-fired missiles like the ones the US is sending, as evidenced by the fact that Russia's fleet of combat helicopters has largely gone unusued.

In the first days of the war in Ukraine, researchers at Oryx found that Russia lost a number of combat jets to the Ukrainians.

—Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 5, 2022

Russia warplanes are aware of the dangers, according to the skirting of Ukrainian air space.

An expert on the Russian military said in an interview on Wednesday that he is seeing signs that its air force is riskier than he thought.

Jeffrey Edmonds, an expert on the Russian military with the Arlington, Va.-based research organization, said that they may be saving their aircraft in case of a larger conflict.

Sam contributed to the report.

The original article is on Business Insider.

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