Russia's huge Air Force is still mostly intact, but it hasn't been building the jets it needs to win on the ground in Ukraine

• After nearly two years of combat in Ukraine, Russia's air force is still largely intact.
• But Moscow has underinvested in aircraft designed for suppressing and destroying enemy air defenses.
• If Russia's air force can't perform that mission, Russian ground forces will continue to struggle. 

Despite its losses in the Ukraine, Russia's air force is still quite robust. It began the war with about 900 fighters and other combat aircraft and is estimated to have lost only about 90 jets between February 2022 and September.