A Russia round 1 attack on Ukraine is a dangerous weapon. It kills the fighter but Russia generally loses their tanks in the process, and can’t hold the territory. Trying to go for West Russia on the same round can be really risky. Trust me I’ve been bit by this as Russia.
There’s a simple solution for the problem in Africa. Use the transport to drop another tank and infantry down there, use the battleship and maybe another fighter to clear the destroyer. IMO taking Anglo Egypt on round 1, with at least 2 tanks is critical to the German victory. If you fail to close the Suez, and fail to kill that fighter and tank, you will regret it the rest of the game. Next UK turn they can have an aircraft carrier, two destroyers, a transport, and two fighters in the Med. Trust me this is the last thing you want to deal with as Germany. If you want you can even have a fighter and Bomber assist in Anglo. Then have the sub from SZ8 and a couple of fighters hit the battleship. How many fighters depends on how lucky you’re feeling. :-D
On G1 the Germans can only hit Ukraine if it has been taken, or take Karelia pretty much, since Archangel is out of range and West Russia often has 9 infantry + tanks + artillery. So you’re really not losing much sending your aircraft out of Europe for round one, as long as you get them back quickly for the next round.