Tensions Escalate as Russia Targets Ukraine's Air Defense.
In the early days of Russia's war on Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military temporarily suppressed Ukraine's surface-to-air missile batteries, but the Ukrainian air force's fighter pilots held the line and ultimately restored their aerial defenses. The Russian air force launched several hundred missiles and targeted three-quarters of the Ukrainian air-defense network, but thanks to NATO-provided intelligence, the Ukrainians had advance notice of the coming strike and dispersed their SAM batteries. The Ukrainian air defenses held until their stocks of Soviet-made missiles for the S-300 and Buk batteries finally ran low starting last month, but Ukraine's NATO allies accelerated the delivery of new Patriot and NASAMS air-defense batteries and prevented an air-defense collapse.