The Russian assault of February 2022 against Ukraine began with a barrage of missiles against key assets of the Ukrainian air defense, reminding the pattern of many US-led interventions since the end of the Cold War. The subsequent full-scale war revealed the inability of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) to establish air superiority. This was an astonishing fact for many Western analysts, given the advanced capabilities of the VKS and the large number of modern aircraft deployed. The present paper will present the strategic approach of the VKS in the Ukrainian conflict, starting from February 2022 until the beginning of 2023. The paper argues that three main issues prevented Russian air power from dominating the Ukrainian air space and from producing tangible effects in favor of the Russian grand strategy: the inability to conduct an effective SEAD/DEAD campaign, poor capabilities in CAS, and poor Russian aircrew training standards