A shift in the combat tactics of the Ukrainian Air Force may point to the presence of foreign mercenaries with battlefield experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to Russian military analyst Aleksei Leonkov.
Earlier, Intelligence Online reported that some of the F-16 fighter jets operating in Ukraine are being flown by American and Dutch pilots.
Leonkov told RIA Novosti that the altered pattern of air operations suggests the involvement of foreign specialists. He argued that the strikes were launched from deep inside Ukrainian territory — a detail he sees as indicative of a different level of operational planning and execution.
According to the analyst, these missions relied primarily on long-range weapons, including Storm Shadow and Scalp cruise missiles. After launch, the F-16 would reportedly carry out a complex evasive maneuver: descending to low altitude, flying close to the terrain, and then heading toward the western regions of Ukraine — possibly in the direction of NATO member states.
At the same time, Leonkov maintained that Russian forces were still able to conduct effective air-to-air missile launches despite such precautions. As a result, he said, the Ukrainian military lost fighter aircraft along with their pilots.
In his assessment, it has become increasingly difficult to conceal the fact that American and Dutch servicemen — veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq — may be piloting these aircraft.