Russia's air force is barely able to leave its own airspace because Ukraine's defenses are so strong, UK intel says

• The Russian air force continues to struggle against Ukraine's strong air defenses, UK intel said.
• Russia is attempting to throw basic free-fall bombs into Ukrainian territory instead.

The Russian air force is barely able to leave its own airspace because Ukraine's air defenses are so strong, according to UK intelligence.

While Russian pilots were managing to support land operations in the south of Ukraine, they were doing so "without decisive operational effect," the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence update on Monday.

To compensate, Russia was sending adapted free-fall bombs into Ukrainian territory. However, these had "yet to demonstrate consistent accuracy," it added.

"Over the summer, Russian tactical combat aircraft have typically carried out over 100 sorties a day, but these are almost always restricted to operating over Russian-controlled territory due to the threat from Ukrainian air defenses," the update said.

A sortie is a military term for the deployment of troops from a defensive position or stronghold.

Russia's recent change in aviation tactics to combat Ukraine's counteroffensive has not deterred Kyiv from successfully securing its airspace.

In the early days of the counteroffensive, Ukraine was vulnerable to Russian air attacks, with some senior Ukrainian military officials saying they were concerned about Russia's "aviation and artillery superiority."

Moscow's use of helicopters also blunted Ukraine's attempts to advance using armored troop vehicles.

But Russia's helicopter prowess appears to have become "less effective" in recent weeks, according to the UK's MoD.

Neither Russia nor Ukraine has been able to gain air superiority in the war so far despite Russia's vastly larger air force. But a military expert previously told Insider that the "advantage is with defense."

British Air Marshal Johnny Stringer said at a conference last month that Russian strikes on front-line targets for the most part remained highly inaccurate.

"That is not the hallmark of a top-tier air force, and to be honest, although we are probably seeing some improvements — and I don't really want to get too drawn on that — they have a long way to go," he added.