Failures of Russia’s Airborne Forces in Ukraine Are a Jolt for China

A Ukrainian serviceman walks past the vertical tail fin of a Russian Su-34 bomber lying in a damaged building in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on March 8, 2022. Andrew Marienko/AP Photo

Commentary

It would appear that Russia’s decades-long investment in strategic mechanized airborne forces has died in the battles over the Hostomel/Antonov airport near Kyiv, which has major implications for the Airborne Corps of China’s People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF).