Sky Shield for Ukraine
Evgeniy Vlasenko, Vice President, MSL Lottery Ukraine In modern warfare, advantage in the air is an important prerequisite for psychological pressure on all branches of the armed forces and a provision for a quick overall victory over the enemy. Whatever the heroism of the ground forces personnel, it is through control of the air that it is possible to inflict significant losses on the enemy and to gain strategic advantage, which is gained by a relatively small number of professionals using up-to-date technology.
The current situation in Russia's air war against Ukraine has the following history and consequences: As of 1991, the year the USSR collapsed, Ukraine had the most powerful air force in Europe and the second-largest in the world after the United States.
The best pilots (some of them became even astronauts of the Soviet Union) were trained at the military institutes in Chernihiv and Kharkiv, i.e. in Ukraine. And 80% of cadets, future officers, were Ukrainians. It was the skill of the Ukrainians that gave the U.S.S.R. its air superiority in the skies of the Second World War, in Vietnam, Ethiopia, Afganistan, and in other military conflicts during the Soviet times.
These are the Ukrainian military experts who taught the officers in Syria, Yemen and Iraq back in the late 1970s.
The two most important moments in the history of post-Soviet Ukraine were a) declaration of independence, which announced independence of Ukraine from Russia as a result of the nationwide referendum and b) the Budapest Memorandum, which at that time a young and inexperienced Ukrainian diplomacy accepted as a guarantee of security in exchange for surrender of nuclear weapons.
In fact, it turned out that Ukraine gave Russia all of its nuclear weapons in exchange to guarantee of long lasting love, so for free, and later also gave away all strategic bombers and so on. This was the beginning of ruining of Ukrainian Air Force and Air Defense. But most importantly, in exchange for this memorandum, which turned out to be a toilet paper, we lost military intelligence, a sense of reality of the modern world and the intimidation of the neighbor under the cold name of Russia.
Over the years, it turned out the country`s leaders of that times, along with the arms, gave up conscience, simply the common sense. And they continued to pursue the Armed Forces. Air Defense. Again in Ukraine, in the center of Kyiv there were two of the best higher military schools in the USSR preparing Air Defense officers. These were Kyiv Higher School of Rocket and Anti Aircraft Defense and the Marshal Vasilevsky Air Defense Academy.
These were Ukrainian specialists who upgraded Syrian Air Defense system back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
These were our specialists who advised on how to cover the sky in many hot spots around the world. But time can become a destroyer if you do nothing. And instead of security in the air, Ukraine got the carelessness of our presidents and generals, which ended with the air force and air defense being neglected. And the troops of "our brotherly nation" have been accumulating equipment, ammunition, experience and insolent imperial intentions on our Motherland all this time.
This is the status we have today. Ukraine has enough talented pilots and anti-aircraft gunners to give a deadly combat victory to the Russian invaders. Russians are convinced that they are No 1 in the sky. They think that during the first day of this war they broke the entire air defense system of our country.
They brazenly want to prove their technological superiority in the sky over Ukraine. Yes, they have better technology, because they were preparing to attack Ukraine not yesterday or the day before, but since 1991, the moment when Ukraine began its path of independence from Russia. And it is as natural for the Kremlin kites as it is natural for a scorpion to sting.
Now, what can we do? If we combine the talent and experience of Ukrainian officers with the technological capabilities of Western countries, we will have the world level professionals on the world's best aircraft. And also accurate and confident air defense sharpshooters. We can provide superiority in the sky and protection from the enemy skies.
We need supplies of the most modern technology for gaining advantage in the sky very quickly, by which will save many lives of our sons and protect the objects and valuables the enemy wants to destroy.
Western Partners!
We need NOW your bombers, fighters, interceptors and air-to- air systems.
Every missile not launched from your aircraft by a Ukrainian pilot is a missile launched by a Russian invader against Ukraine.
That is why we are not asking for it, we have to push you (as every minute counts) to provide us with the most modern air defense systems and airplanes. All should stand up for defense of Ukraine. All for the support of Ukraine. Glory to Ukraine!