Russia could dominate Ukraine from the air soon as their defence supplies start to run low, according to a military expert.
British military analyst Professor Michael Clarke says that Vladimir Putin's troops are likely to be "much more effective in the air" in the months ahead, with the war-hungry leader likely to roll the dice with a major offensive.
Ukraine has so far been able to neutralise much of Russia's aerial threat with surface-to-air systems and air defence missiles since fighting broke out last February.
However, Russia's relentless use of Iran-made Shahead-136 suicide drones in recent weeks is thought to have taken out a considerable amount of Ukraine's reserves.
Speaking to the Express.co.uk, Professor Clarke commented that "air superiority will be key" in the next round of fighting as supplies become more and more ravaged by conflict.
He said: “The idea is that, for the next round of fighting, which will be much more fierce, I think, with a new level of military capability on both sides, air superiority will be key.
"The reason why the situation on the ground is how it is currently is because the Russians have not established air superiority.
"If they had, the Ukrainians would be having a really tough time. The fact that it is so well-balanced on the ground now, with Ukraine having the advantage, is because the Russians do not dominate the air space."
Professor Clarke went on to say that “escalation is built into this war" and predicted that 2023 would be "a lot more dangerous than 2022 was."
"It is going to get worse, it is going to get more fierce and more dangerous, and we will keep crossing thresholds, as will the Russians", he said.
It comes as Ukraine and its Western allies engaged in "fast-track" talks over the weekend on the possibility of equipping the invaded country with long-range missiles and military aircraft, according to a top Ukrainian presidential aide.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stressed need for the West to send planes capable of providing cover for tanks being supplied by United States, Germany and the UK.
