In the last two weeks, there has been an uptick in russian tactical combat air sorties, especially over the south of Ukraine, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
This has almost certainly been in response to reports of increased Ukrainian offensive operations, as the russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) attempt to support ground troops with air strikes.
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Despite the uptick, VKS’ daily sortie rate remains much lower than the peak of up to 300 daily missions early in the war.
According to the UK Defense Intelligence, since the start of full-scale invasion, the south of Ukraine has often been more permissible for russian air operations compared to other sectors of the front.
Over the last year, VKS has increased its use of air-to-surface weapons, such as glide bombs, which allow attack aircraft to remain well away from their targets.
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