Volume 7 of War in Ukraine provides a detailed account of the air war as it developed during 2023, a period in which Russia made extensive use of Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers and their missiles to bring about the collapse of the power supply system in Ukraine. The second year of the War in Ukraine began with the Russian attempt to collapse the power supply and power grid of Ukraine through an offensive with ballistic- and cruise missiles. Lasting months, this operation saw the sustained deployment of Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers and their missiles, combined with tactical precision guided munitions and Iranian-made Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Highly promising, early on, the offensive failed because of last-minute deliveries of advanced air defence systems and a large number of power generators from the West: even then, it was a close call, with the government in Kyiv almost making the decision to evacuate the capital. Hard on the heels of this episode, the USA and Germany rushed PAC-2/3 Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, which Russia attempted to knock out with its Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. Around the same time, the Russians also began deploying MPK/UMPK glide bombs to strike targets along the frontline from outside the range of Ukrainian air defences. War In Ukraine: Volume 7, Air War, January - December 2023 continues the detailed military history of this ongoing conflict, the largest in Europe since the end of the Second World War in 1945. This volume is illustrated throughout with original color photographs and includes specially commissioned color artworks. AUTHORS: Tom Cooper is an Austrian aerial warfare analyst and historian. Following a career in worldwide transportation business - during which he established a network of contacts in the Middle East and Africa - he moved into narrow-focus analysis and writing on small, little-known air forces and conflicts, about which he has collected extensive archives. This has resulted in specialization in such Middle Eastern air forces as of those of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, plus various African and Asian air forces. Except for authoring and co-authoring more than 30 books - including about a dozen of titles for Helion's @War series - and over 1000 articles, Cooper is a regular correspondent for multiple defense-related publications. Adrien Fontanellaz, from Switzerland, is a military history researcher and author. He developed a passion for military history at an early age and has progressively narrowed his studies to modern-day conflicts. He is a member of the Scientific Committee of the Pully-based Centre d'histoire et de prospective militaries (Military History and Prospectives Center), and regularly contributes for the Revue Militaire Suisse and various French military history magazines. He is co-founder and a regular contributor to the French military history website L'autre cotè de la colline. Milos Sipos is a Slovakian military historian. While pursuing a career in law, he has collected extensive documentation on inter-connected political, industrial, human resources and military-related affair in Iran, Iraq, and Syria. His core interest is a systematic approach to studies of their deep impacts upon combat efficiency and the general performance of local militaries. After more than 10 years of related work on the ACIG.info forum, he co-authored the much acclaimed book 'Iraqi Mirages: The Dassault Mirage Family in Service with the Iraqi Air Force'. This is his second instalment for Helion. 120 colour illustrations, 90 colour photos, 10pp colour plates, 12 colour maps, 12 tables
