Britain says Russia is greatly affected after "3 Su-34 planes were shot down by Ukraine"

The UK Ministry of Defence has released an intelligence assessment that Russia appears to be losing air superiority over Ukraine compared to the early stages of the special military operation.

He said that after Ukraine announced it had shot down three Russian Su-34s on December 22, Moscow reduced its air force operations due to concerns about losing fighter jets.

On December 24, Ukraine continued to announce that it shot down two Russian Su-30 and Su-34 aircraft.

Previously, the UK assessed that Russia had a great advantage on the southern front, when it continuously fired smart glide bombs at Krynky and Kherson. This was the bridgehead that Ukraine gained after fighting across the Dnieper River to the left bank area controlled by Russia.

Russia has not commented on Ukraine's statements.

However, he said that after the above "losses", the Russian Aerospace Forces almost completely stopped their operations on the southern front a few days later.

“This demonstrates once again that Russia’s failure to establish air superiority continues to undermine its day-to-day operations,” he said.

British intelligence believes that the lack of air support makes it difficult for the Russian Army's 18th Combined Arms Army to push Ukraine away from the Krynky bridgehead. In recent days, Britain said, Russia has shown signs of resuming air strikes around Krynky, but at a much lower level than before the "loss of three Su-34s in one day" incident.

This helps Ukraine maintain its bridgehead on the left bank of the river, despite the heavy losses it has suffered in defending the small village, and has also received mixed opinions.

Since recapturing the city of Kherson on the right bank of the Dnieper River in late 2022, Ukrainian forces have launched regular attacks across the river into the left bank, which is controlled by Russia.

In October 2023, the 38th Marine Brigade crossed the river and entered Krynky, about 40km north of the city of Kherson.

However, holding the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper is fraught with risks. An unnamed Ukrainian serviceman told the BBC that Kiev's forces stationed on the left bank of the Dnieper were facing a number of difficulties in maintaining their gains after a long period of fighting across the river.

Some soldiers told the New York Times and the Washington Post that the mission was not very meaningful because Ukrainian forces often came under heavy fire before they could successfully cross the river.

In addition to the lack of manpower, ensuring supplies across the river was another major challenge. Despite the difficulties and losses, the Ukrainian side was determined to maintain its gains on the left bank of the Dnieper.

Analyst Nikola Mikovic believes that because Ukraine's counterattack on the entire front line since June 2023 has not achieved the expected results, they want to keep the achievements on the left bank of the river for political reasons.

Mr Mikovic said that although Krynky was not as important as the city of Kherson, Ukraine was hesitant to abandon the village, "because such a move could have a significant impact on the political situation in Kiev". This could send a message that they were still in control and had a chance to successfully counterattack.

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