As the initial fog of war in Ukraine tends to somewhat settle, quite a few accounts from the early days of the ongoing Russian invasion have turned out to be untrue. More than a few claims and counterclaims have been made since the predawn assault by Russian forces began on February 24.
Here are some of the anecdotes that appeared to be accurate at first but did not hold in the later stages of the war.
ZERO AIR DEFENCE
One of the first claims made by the Russian government after the invasion began was that of Russian airstrikes neutralizing Ukraine’s air defence systems following the initial airstrikes. On February 24, after the initial strikes that included multiple cruise missile attacks as well as the bombings by bombers and multirole jets, Russian state media quoted the Russian Ministry of Defence claiming the military infrastructure at Ukrainian army air bases was “rendered out of action” and Kyiv’s air defence systems totally “eliminated”.
READ: How a month of Russia-Ukraine war has silenced a bustling town | Before & after pics
While these claims were refuted by the Ukrainian side, the Russian claims seemed valid in the early days as more and more visual evidence of destroyed airfields surfaced. The claims were further backed by swift advances made by Russian ground forces along the eastern borders. However, as the war progressed, it came to light that the Russian Air Force has not been able to achieve unrestricted access to Ukrainian airspace to this day.
This has been further established by the continuous stall of the Russian ground forces that have failed to invade the capital Kyiv for several days. While visual evidence of air defence systems in action over Kyiv has emerged, the US government believes that Ukraine still has a limited number of flying aircraft protecting strategic areas.
Pentagon spokesperson John F. Kirby confirmed the same earlier this week. “The airspace is contested. And it’s contested because the Ukrainians are making it that way. And they’re being very smart about how they’re marshaling and using their air defense resources, which includes fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, which they continue to fly,” Kirby told reporters at a briefing. Ukraine continues to operate TB2 UCAVs to a great effect against the Russian ground forces.
DEAD WARSHIP
The stirring story of a Russian warship that bombed Snake Island in the Black Sea on the first day of the war being taken down in a valiant Ukrainian revenge plot was one of the most fascinating naval battle stories. It was reported that the Russian naval vessel had asked the Ukrainian border guards on the island to surrender, but was told to “go f*** yourself”.
Video of the Black Sea Fleet’s Vasily Bykov Project 22160 patrol ship returning to port in Sevastopol. There were earlier claims that Ukraine damaged the ship but it appears to be fine. https://t.co/MkMnc7zhwW pic.twitter.com/91N4HOR7RS
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) March 17, 2022
The warship returned fire in response and the island ended up in Russian control. A few days later, it was reported, citing Ukrainian military sources, that one of the Russian ships, part of the Snake Island operation-Vasily Bykov, was lured by small Ukrainian boats to a camouflaged firing position, where it was shelled and destroyed. However, the Russian petrol patrol ship was seen returning to port in Sevastopol a few days later.
NEW JETS FOR UKRAINE
Driven by the popular domestic sentiment on the Ukraine issue, political statements were made by the leaders from friendly countries, indicating Ukraine would receive soviet-era MiG-29 jets from partner countries. It was reported that the Polish government & military were ready to send all of its remaining MiG-29 jets to the U.S.-run Ramstein Air Base in Germany “immediately and free of charge,” in order to be transported to Ukraine.
Poland expected to buy US-made fighter jets to fulfill its own needs. However, it soon became clear that the U.S. was not on board with the proposal. The Polish government also clarified later that such plans could not be executed. According to the government of Ukraine, the war-torn country is yet to receive any fighter or bomber jet from partner countries.
UKRAINE DESTROYING II-76
In the early days of the war, the Ukrainian military leadership claimed to have shot down a Russian Il-76 Candid airlifted near Kyiv.
#UAF #AFU #UKRAINE #JFO # #WARINUKRAINE #STOPRussia pic.twitter.com/ytyNDqKHBx
— (@GeneralStaffUA) February 25, 2022
It was a big claim as the Il-76s are the key aircraft used for heavy transport and paratrooper operations. A variant of this is also used as aerial refueling tankers and an early warning and control (AEW&C) system. So far, no visual evidence confirming this incident has been found despite the availability of ample satellite imagery. Ukraine has been using its surveillance drones to capture successful hits by its ground and aerial attacks. Such footage is released by official Ukrainian platforms on a regular basis. However, no official Ukrainian source released any visual evidence of one of the biggest feats, asserted by its military.
GHOST OF KYIV
The story of an unnamed MiG-29 jet pilot credited with shooting down six Russian planes over Kyiv on the first day of the invasion always sounded too good to be true. But as the dust started to settle, it started to become clear that the character known as “Ghost of Kyiv”, was more of an urban legend that made its way to popular discussion via various unverified sources and claims.
On March 21, a senior U.S. Department of Defence official in a background briefing confirmed the existence of operational fighter jets in Ukraine. However, they denied any incident of reported dogfights between the Russian and Ukrainian jets.