Ukraine Adds 20 Warplanes To Boost Defense vs Russian Invasion

The Ukrainian Air Force has added about 20 more operational aircraft to its fleet because of an influx of spare parts, according to a senior US defense official, Oren Liebermann reported for CNN.

Photo Insert: The Ukrainians weren't using their aircraft much, flying only five to 10 missions per day.

Though the official wouldn't specify which country had provided the aircraft parts, the official said Wednesday that the US and other countries had worked "to get them the parts they need to get them in the air."

The flow of spare parts has allowed Ukraine to expand its fleet of operational military aircraft. The country has more aircraft now than it did three weeks ago, the official said.

Moreover, British newspapers reported that Ukraine has accumulated more than 50,000 anti-tank and 10,000 anti-aircraft missiles, including Stingers, Javelins, Starstreaks, AT-4s, NLAWS, Strellas, and Ukraine-made Stugnas.

Hundreds of missile launchers, armored personnel carriers, and military and civilian drones have also been deployed.

The US has committed to sending Ukraine 16 Mi-17 helicopters, but the administration has declined to get involved in a transfer of MiG-29s from another country to Ukraine via the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked other countries for Soviet-era MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets, which Ukrainian pilots already know how to fly. Zelensky has asked other Eastern European countries with the fourth-generation airframes to send them to Ukraine, but no country has yet agreed to do so.

Despite the constant bombardment from Russian missiles and artillery, as well as the strikes on military bases, Ukraine's Air Force has remained largely intact, though it has suffered some losses.

In early March, about two weeks into the war, Ukraine had 56 fighter aircraft, which composed about 80% of its fixed-wing fighters. But the Ukrainians weren't using their aircraft much, flying only five to 10 missions per day, the official said. Even now, with more operational aircraft, the Ukrainian Air Force is still flying a very limited number of daily sorties, another defense official said.

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