The Air War in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Air Force released a series of F-16 flight images.
Starring the F-16
Text: Miro Barič
Ukrainian Su-27 and MiG-29 fighters are still flying and fighting, including those delivered from Slovakia and Poland. However, Western military assistance is becoming increasingly important for the Ukrainian Air Force. In recent months, F-16 fighters have carried the main burden of combat, performing up to 80 percent of Ukrainian Air Force missions.
During the observed period from 1 October to 31 October 2025, Russian forces attempted attacks in several sectors—from Kupiansk on the border of Kharkiv Oblast, through Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, down to Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the south. The Russian advance was facilitated by the increasingly massive use of glide bombs, against which Ukrainian defenders still have no effective counter. Russian aviation is also constantly trying to improve them. In October, the use of glide bombs equipped with an additional rocket motor was documented for the first time. It is estimated that such a modified bomb, with a 100-kg explosive warhead, has a range of 200 km. This allows Russian aircraft to release them at a safe distance from the front line, completely avoiding Ukrainian air defenses.
Record Numbers
Deep inside Ukrainian territory, Russian strikes on energy infrastructure continued. Their aim is to terrorize the civilian population by depriving them of electricity and heating during winter. In October, Russia launched 5,298 long-range drones and 270 missiles and cruise weapons at Ukraine. The number of missiles was the highest since early 2023, when Kyiv began publishing daily statistics. For comparison, in September this year, 185 missiles and cruise weapons were launched at Ukraine. Thus, October saw a 46-percent increase.
During the night of Friday, 3 October, Russia launched 381 drones and 35 missiles. The massive attack did not target any military facility but exclusively energy infrastructure. Another large raid followed during the night of Sunday, 5 October. Western Ukraine was targeted by 496 drones and 53 missiles. Out of the total 549 projectiles, Ukrainian defenses intercepted 478. The remaining ones struck mainly energy facilities in Ivano-Frankivsk and Lviv. In Lviv, a large warehouse of Polish clothing brands was also hit. At least nine people were killed. Near Lviv, one Russian projectile struck a house, killing a family of four, including a 15-year-old girl.
Ukraine is trying to hit Russia where it truly hurts. In addition to attacks on refineries—which reduced gasoline production by one million tons per month—Ukraine also began to strike Russian energy infrastructure, something it had previously avoided. A major Ukrainian drone strike occurred on the night of Monday, 6 October. It hit the electrical grid near Belgorod and a heating plant near Bryansk. Ukrainian drones also targeted an oil terminal in Feodosia in Crimea, a refinery in Tuapse, a munitions factory near Nizhny Novgorod, the Saky airbase, and other sites. Among the refinery attacks, one especially noted was the strike on the Tyumen refinery on Tuesday, 7 October—more than 2,000 km from the Ukrainian border.
Russia launched another large raid during the night of Friday, 10 October, after which nine Ukrainian regions lost electricity and hot water. Russia deployed 465 kamikaze drones and 32 missiles. In Zaporizhzhia, an apartment block was struck, killing a 7-year-old boy—the son of a Ukrainian soldier recently returned from Russian captivity.
On Tuesday, 14 October, In Kherson Oblast, Russia hit two vehicles clearly marked as UN World Food Programme, which were carrying humanitarian aid. Fortunately, their drivers were uninjured.
During the night of Wednesday, 22 October, a Russian raid killed at least six people. In Kyiv, a projectile struck a family home, killing a woman and her two children, aged six months and 12 years. Russia launched 405 drones and 28 missiles that night.
During the night of Saturday, 25 October, nine ballistic missiles struck Kyiv. Four of them targeted heating plants. Two people were killed and 12 injured. On the night of Sunday, 26 October, the following “military” targets in Kyiv were struck—a pharmaceutical warehouse, a coffee roastery, and an apartment building where at least three civilians died and 32 were injured.
The largest attack of the period came to its end, during the night of Thursday, 30 October. Russia launched 653 drones and 52 missiles. Ukrainian defenses shot down 592 kamikaze drones and 31 out of 43 cruise missiles. However, none of the nine Iskander-M and Kinzhal ballistic missiles were intercepted. Energy infrastructure was hit once again, as well as apartment buildings where civilians were killed.
Burning garment warehouse, hit on October 5 in Lviv.
On October 14, Russians destroyed vehicles of the UN World Food Programme in the Kherson region.
After the attack on Kyiv on October 26, a Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma helicopter of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry helped with putting the fires out.
The Workhorse
Fighter aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force play a major role in countering these attacks. Increasingly, these are the Western-supplied aircraft. According to the latest statistics, F-16s now fly up to 80 percent of all combat missions. MiG-29s and Su-27s are still important, but their numbers are dwindling, while F-16 supplies are expected to continue.
The Air Force Command reported that since the first F-16s were delivered in August 2024, these jets have destroyed more than 1,300 enemy aerial targets—primarily cruise missiles, with French Mirage 2000s, delivered this year, also contributing. Besides air targets, F-16s also support ground forces. Using guided bombs, they have struck more than 300 Russian ground targets—mainly vehicles, command posts, ammunition depots, logistics hubs, and drone-operator sites.
The Ukrainian Air Force released a series of F-16 flight images.
A video footage of a Ukrainian Mirage 2000-5F fighter jet. The aircraft number has been censored (the large one under the cockpit and the small one above the national insignia on the tail), but on the left side of the fuselage you can see cruise missiles kill markings.
More Mirages, F-16s, and Even Gripens
During the monitored period, several positive developments occurred regarding the future of the Ukrainian Air Force. France confirmed it would deliver additional Mirage 2000 fighters. Belgium received its first F-35 aircraft, meeting the condition for releasing older F-16s for Ukraine. Thus, in addition to jets from Denmark, the Netherlands, and Norway, Ukraine will soon receive more F-16s from Belgium.
The most significant development, however, appears to be the agreement concluded in Linköping on Wednesday, 22 October, between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. It is a preliminary document expressing intent to procure JAS 39 Gripen fighters. Both sides have since been working intensively on the details of a final agreement.
Ukraine is expected to acquire 100 to 150 Gripens, most of which would be delivered after the expected end of the war as part of the rebuilding and modernization of the postwar Ukrainian Air Force. However, some Gripens are expected to be delivered as early as 2026, and Ukrainian pilots and ground crews are already training for them. These will almost certainly be older JAS 39C/D versions.
Later, Ukraine is expected to receive the newest JAS 39E fighters. Pilot training for this version should begin next year. Starting in 2033, Ukrainian industry is planned to take part in their production, manufacturing some components domestically. But that lies far in the future. Financing also needs to be resolved—much will come from Ukraine’s postwar budget, but Sweden is considering other options such as frozen Russian assets or military-aid funding allocated for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson sign a letter of intent to procure JAS 39 Gripen fighters.
During the signing ceremony in Linköping on October 22, one Gripen also performed a flight demonstration.
Friendly Fire
However, for now, the war in Ukraine is still ongoing, and its daily reality includes battles in the air. During the period covered by this article, no confirmed losses of the Ukrainian Air Force were acknowledged. On the contrary, the Russian Air Force lost several aircraft—and some sources suggest that part of these Russian losses were caused by their own air defenses.
The first known Russian loss took place in October, however, was non-combat related. It occurred far from the Ukrainian border, in the Chaplygin district in the northern part of Lipetsk Oblast. In the early evening of Thursday, 9 October, a MiG-31 fighter crashed there. According to official Russian sources, the aircraft was on a training flight and carried no weapons. As it prepared to land at the base on its return, the left landing-gear leg failed to deploy. The crew therefore directed the aircraft toward an uninhabited area and ejected. Both pilots survived.
The very next day, on Friday, 10 October, a Russian Kamov Ka-52 helicopter crashed. This time, neither the circumstances nor the location of the crash were disclosed. However, Russian channels confirmed that both crew members were killed. Senior Lieutenant Alexander Dubrovin and Senior Lieutenant Alexander Mozharov belonged to the 15th Army Aviation Brigade.
A week later, on Friday, 17 October, a Su-30SM fighter from the 43rd Independent Naval Assault Regiment crashed in Crimea. The aircraft was engaged in repelling a Ukrainian drone attack. After launching a missile at a Ukrainian drone, a on-board fire broke out. When the crew failed to extinguish it, both pilots ejected and were quickly rescued by a search-and-rescue helicopter. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Russian sources mention three main possibilities—technical malfunction, collision with drone debris, or being hit by a missile from their own air defenses.
Friendly fire is also mentioned in connection with the loss of another Ka-52 helicopter, which occurred on Monday, 27 October. According to some reports, Russian air defenses mistook their own helicopter for an attacking Ukrainian drone. The two-man crew did not survive.
For the strikes deep inside the Russian territory, Ukraine also uses these E-300 drones.
On October 29, Russians shot down their own Gerbera drone over Donetsk, though propaganda claimed it was a Ukrainian missile.
The Russian Ministry of Defense image shows a Ka-52 helicopter. During the monitored period, Russia lost two helicopters of this type.
They Burned the Trash—Along With the Helicopter
Another incident, that could be described as an own goal, was the destruction of two light aircraft, which occurred sometime before Tuesday, 21 October, when video of the attack was published. Russian propaganda television played a major role in making this possible. Russia had begun using Ukrainian-style tactics in the fight against drones, deploying light aircraft from which the second crew member fires at drones with small arms installed in the cockpit.
Russian television filmed a report about this, showing not only a Yak-52 with registration RA-1874G from the Bars-Sarmat unit, but also detailed shots of the airfield it operated from. This airfield was quickly identified as the former private airfield Korsak, near the village of Pryazovske, 20 km southeast of occupied Melitopol and only 80 km from the front line. It had recently been renovated, and the Russians had begun using it as a base for anti-drone operations. Immediately after the Russian report was broadcast, Ukrainian drones “paid a visit” and destroyed at least two aircraft—a Yak-52 and a high-wing aircraft, probably a Cessna 172, which also appeared in the televised report. Instead of a cockpit gunner, this Cessna carried two machine guns mounted at the wing-strut attachment points.
Another loss occurred earlier but was confirmed only recently. Court documents reveal that on 4 September 2024, a Mi-8 helicopter belonging to Russia’s National Guard, Rosgvardia, burned down at a training airfield near Novocherkassk in Rostov Oblast. It happened under tragicomic circumstances. Captain Nikolai Novoselov ordered trash that had been dumped into a pit to be burned, even though regulations explicitly forbade this. Strong winds caused the burning trash to ignite dry grass nearby—and from there, the helicopter itself caught fire.
The helicopter was fully fueled and loaded with rescue, parachute, and pyrotechnic equipment. The entire aircraft, along with its cargo, burned to ashes. Rosgvardia calculated the damage at 574 million rubles (7.3 million USD) and sought compensation from Novoselov through the courts. However, the court dismissed the claim and fined the captain 350,000 rubles only (4,400 USD), reasoning that he would never be able to pay such a huge sum anyway.
Russian propaganda boasted about using light Yak-52 aircraft against drones, inadvertently revealing the exact location of the airfield.
The Ukrainian drone response did not take long.
Russia also uses Cessna 172 aircraft against the drones, armed with the machine guns mounted on the struts near the fuselage.
Ukraine has been using Yak-52 aircraft against drones for a long time. Each of these planes sprots a different paint scheme, often their original civilian ones. Footage of the Yak-52M in this color scheme is new and was only released recently.
We have already reported that Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters use M134 Minigun machine guns against Russian drones. A new image has surfaced showing the placement of this machine gun in the Mi-8’s side door.