Air War in Ukraine - What happened over the past year?
continuation of the series therefore does not deal only with the recent period from February 1, 2026 to February 28, 2026, but also recaps events from the past year.
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine has
already lasted longer than Nazi Germany’s
war against the Soviet Union from 1941–45.
Over the past year, the Russian army has
advanced in several places along the front line.
In some areas it did manage to move forward
(for example, Pokrovsk), but only slowly and
at the cost of enormous losses. The pace of
the Russian advance was even slower than
during the major battles of World War I, which
was considered largely static. In some areas,
despite heavy pressure and losses, Russian
forces achieved virtually nothing (Kupiansk).
During the currently observed period,
Ukrainian armed forces even carried out
successful local counterattacks (especially in
the Zaporizhzhia region) and liberated several
villages. The Ukrainians were also helped by
the fact that Elon Musk promptly responded to
their request and disabled Starlink terminals
used by Russian forces. The Russians had
relied on them not only for communication
but also for guiding long-range drones. Using
unmanned systems equipped with Starlink
terminals, they had been able to remotely
attack moving trains or aircraft at Ukrainian
airfields. Such attacks on air bases did not
occur during this observed period.
At the end of February, however, something
happened that affected the entire world,
including developments in Ukraine. The
United States and Israel attacked Iran.
At the outset, they eliminated much of the
country’s top political and military leadership
and significantly degraded Iran’s military
capabilities—though they did not destroy them
completely, nor did the Iranian regime collapse.
On the contrary, Iran began launching missiles
and drones not only at Israel but also at all
surrounding Persian Gulf states and blocked
oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz. This
situation has lasted for another month and
is causing economic problems worldwide.
It appears the U.S. was caught off guard and
did not have a backup plan—similar to Russia
after the failure of its “three-day” operation
four years ago. How does this specifically
affect Ukraine? Russia can benefit in the long
term from higher oil prices and thus gain
more money to wage war. Ukraine may also
suffer from reduced deliveries of weapons and
ammunition. For comparison: over three years,
Ukraine received a total of 600 missiles for
Patriot air defense systems. The U.S. and other
countries in the Middle East used 800 Patriot
missiles in just the first three days of the war
with Iran. They are also using them to destroy
cheap Shahed drones, which Iran launches in
large numbers. Ukrainians responded quickly
and offered assistance to several countries.
They sent specialists to the Middle East who
help destroy Shahed drones more cheaply—for
example, using drone interceptors.
In any case, the world is descending into
chaos that even the Info Eduard editorial team
may no longer be able to keep up with. For now,
let us look at what happened in Ukraine over
the past year.
Miro Barič
What happened over the past year?
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began four years ago, on February 24, 2022.
This continuation of the series therefore does not deal only with the recent period from
February 1, 2026 to February 28, 2026, but also recaps events from the past year.
Air War in Ukraine
Training of Ukrainian paratroopers in rappelling from a Mi-8 helicopter.
An almost artistic shot of Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter
jets. The aircraft on the left is, based on the antenna
behind the cockpit, a former Slovak MiG-29AS.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard28
April 2026