Russia May Take Over Ukraine's Air Space As 'Opening Move,' Shut Out Western Forces

Russia may take over Ukraine's airspace as an "opening move" in case of an invasion, some experts said, as they urged western nations to help shore up Ukraine's air defenses.

The Military Times, in an article, warned that an air assault on Ukraine would "test the limits of the U.S. and NATO’s willingness to remain active" in Ukraine. In other words, a quick Russian takeover of Ukrainian airspace would effectively shut NATO and U.S. forces out of the country, with marginal, if any, role to play in the conflict.

Ukraine will face an initial onslaught of cyberattacks, followed by air and missile strikes as an opening physical assault to control the skies, said a report by Military Times quoting Seth Jones, who directs the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The report said Ukraine's air defenses are particularly weak and outmatched by Russian capabilities. Adding to Ukraine's woes is its "largely outdated" stockpile of anti-aircraft missiles, which ironically are Soviet-built, and which the Russian know how to evade and counter.

Philip Breedlove, a retired Air Force general who served as head of U.S. European Command and NATO’s supreme allied commander, said Russia knows how to evade these weapons. Ukraine owns Russian-made command-and-control systems, making them susceptible to electronic jamming and attack by their creator.

“I take you back to 2014, when the Russians invaded and occupied Crimea. When they flipped that switch to take over Crimea, they completely, absolutely, 100% disconnected the military garrisons in Crimea from Kyiv,” he said. “Some of that was electronic warfare.”

The shoulder-fired Stinger missiles that some western nations have provided to Ukraine can only be used against helicopters or certain drones. "In the face of a dedicated Russian attack, with Russian air forces bringing their full force down to bear on Ukraine, they would not be able to defend their sovereign airspace," Breedlove said.

"Nations have a legitimate right to self-defense, and the United States and our allies have every right to provide such means now," said Wesley Clark, a retired four-star Army general who served as NATO’s supreme allied commander from 1997 to 2000, in a Washington Post op-ed.

"We should expedite the delivery of defensive means and insist that our NATO allies do likewise. No other act now can show more resolve to Putin," he added.