Democratic Party Senator Richard Durbin asked the general what threat a possible three-year cut in funding for air defense systems poses to Ukraine. In response, D. Caine spoke about the development of Ukraine’s defensive capabilities.
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“I would like to emphasize the work being done by Ukraine’s industrial base, expanding its capabilities. This includes everything from their surface-to-air capabilities to air-to-air capabilities,” D. Caine noted.
He emphasized that “we recently achieved the first victory in an aerial battle when a Ukrainian F-16 fighter shot down a Russian fighter.”
“Therefore, I believe that their ability to strengthen layered defense has significantly increased over the past few years,” added the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Destruction of Russian aircraft
Earlier, the Unian portal reported that a MiG-29 fighter jet was shot down during a strike on an airfield in the Kursk region.
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According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade successfully carried out an operation at the Khalino airfield. During it, in addition to the MiG-29 fighter, the Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system was destroyed.
It was also reported that after a strike by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on the Engels-2 military airfield in the Saratov region, a Tu-95 strategic bomber was literally split into two parts. As seen from satellite images, the aircraft’s tail was torn off.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that Ukrainian defense forces destroyed a Russian Tu-95 in Engels. Russia uses aircraft of this type for missile strikes against Ukraine. According to Zelenskyy, the distance from the Ukrainian state border to the destroyed aircraft is about 800 kilometers.
