The Ukrainian raid in the early hours of April 1 on fuel tanks in Belgorod, Russia, 40 kilometers from the border, is probably the debunking of the myth of Russian air defense. It may have gone “thin” between the April Fools’ lies / plates, but the “invasion” of two helicopters into Russian airspace, and the bombardment with unguided fuel tank rockets, is akin to the landing of the tiny West German in Red Square on the USSR.
Russia has a huge air force operating in Ukraine. It has satellites over Ukraine, constantly flying (?) Spy planes, has reconnaissance flights in steady state, and UAVs of various types. At the same time, Ukraine has been bombed non-stop since February 24. How did the Ukrainians manage to “pass” and destroy the fuel tanks, even with unguided rockets?
First of all, like all helicopters, the Mi-24 can fly very, very low. But again, this is not justified, as there is something called flying radar, and it covers every gap in the air defense. We are talking about Ukraine, where the highest mountain is a low hill. Therefore, what happened is not justified, unless… Unless there was a flying radar over Ukraine from the Russian side. How did the Ukrainians know that?
Most likely, they were informed about the gap in the early warning by NATO. NATO, with dozens of air means, the Ukrainian airspace at great depth, while SIGINT systems inform about all kinds of emissions.
Not to mention the F-35 flights that probably remain within NATO airspace, but offer very large capabilities for surveillance of enemy airspace.
The impact took place at night. Obviously Ukrainian helicopters have advanced night-vision systems, an area that clearly lags behind Russia. The point, however, is that the Ukrainians not only managed to destroy one and a half million liters of valuable fuel, but also transferred, even for a while, the war to the territory of the enemy.
The psychological pressure on the Russians is now too great. Even Russian cities in the rear have legitimate targets for Ukrainians. We recall the attack with a regular SS-21 ballistic missile in the first days of the invasion, at a Russian airport from which at least one Su 34 fighter jet was destroyed.
The Russian invasion, or as the Russians like to call it, the special military operation, is not going well at all. If nothing else, even if Ukrainian helicopters had escaped the devastating Russian bombing, they had to be stopped.
