Poland could provide Ukraine with fighter jets in a deal being negotiated with the United States, as Kyiv begs the West for enough support to prevent Russia from gaining air superiority in its invasion.

Facebook/General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Ukraine’s armed forces claim to have downed 88 Russian aircraft and helicopters, such as this one in the Mykolayiv region - Facebook/General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Warsaw could supply Soviet-era warplanes to Kyiv while receiving US F-16 jets from Washington, in a proposed deal confirmed by the US secretary of state on Sunday.

“We are looking actively now at the question of airplanes that Poland may provide to Ukraine and looking at how we might be able to backfill should Poland decide to supply those planes,” Antony Blinken said, without indicating a timeline.

His comments came after Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, made a “desperate plea” to the US Congress for more planes and air defence systems.

That Moscow does not already dominate the skies over Ukraine remains something of a mystery to military aviation experts, with some speculating that the Russian air force’s surprisingly poor showing in the invasion so far suggests deep-rooted problems.

Ukraine’s armed forces claim to have downed 88 Russian aircraft and helicopters, including four helicopters, five planes and an unmanned aircraft on Saturday alone.

 Provided by The Telegraph The tail end of the Russian helicopter that Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot down on Saturday - Facebook/General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

 Provided by The Telegraph The damaged Russian helicopter and a Russian forces badge - Facebook/General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Russia  had 300 modern combat aircraft stationed within range of Ukraine and relocated others closer in the build-up to the invasion, according to Justin Bronk, an airpower research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute.

The “only currently viable explanation” for the Russian air force failing to control the airspace over Ukraine is that it “lacks the institutional capacity to plan, brief and fly complex air operations at scale,” he wrote in an analysis.

This may be because Russian pilots typically only get about 100 hours or less of flying time annually – about half that of pilots in most Nato air forces – and have no large-scale, complex air exercises.

A lack of experienced leadership may also have contributed to the Russian air force’s relatively poor showing so far in the invasion.

“Operational commanders have very little practical experience of how to plan, brief and co-ordinate complex air operations involving tens or hundreds of assets in a high-threat air environment,” said Mr Bronk.

The Russian air force’s most extensive experience in recent years has been in Syria since 2015, where they have mainly been able to operate in simple formations.

 Provided by The Telegraph Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state - Olivier Douliery, Pool via AP

Ukraine begs the West for more support

While not all their claims have been corroborated, many videos published online have shown downed Russian aircraft.

The Ukrainian military shared a clip showing a Russian helicopter crashing after being struck by a surface-to-air missile north of Kyiv on Saturday.

The 10-second clip showed a smoke-trailing missile strike the low-flying Mi-24 helicopter, which burst into flame and tumbled to earth, exploding in a large yellow fireball.

Another video showed a captured Russian pilot who survived bailing out of his downed Su-34 fighter-bomber. 

In a third clip, a Ukrainian soldier toting an anti-aircraft missile receives congratulations from Petro Poroshenko, the former Ukrainian president, after reportedly downing a Russian Su-30SM fighter jet.

Mr Zelensky repeated calls for a no-fly zone on Ukraine on Sunday, saying in a video address on Sunday that “the world is strong enough to close our skies”.

However, Nato has ruled out such a move, fearful of being drawn into conflict with Russia. Instead, Nato countries are looking at providing Ukraine with air defences and aircraft.

Washington moves to broker deal

Washington cannot supply planes to Kyiv directly as the Ukrainian air force flies Russian-made aircraft, while eastern European countries that possess compatible inventory are wary of antagonising Vladimir Putin, the Russian president.

Any decision to supply aircraft to Ukraine must be made with Nato, a Polish official told the Financial Times.

“Poland is not in a state of war with Russia, but it is not an impartial country, because it supports Ukraine as the victim of aggression. It considers, however, that all military matters must be a decision of Nato as a whole.”

While the Ukrainian military’s man-portable air-defence systems have brought down many aircraft, experts said that this alone is not enough to explain why the much larger Russian air force has failed to destroy Ukrainian airfields and dominate the skies in the first 10 days of the invasion.