The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported that the restructuring of the “short-range” air defense system continues to ensure rapid response to threats targeting Ukrainian airspace.
He announced this on January 28.
“Russia attacks Ukrainian cities every day with hundreds of drones — more than 6,000 drones just in the past month. Residential buildings, critical infrastructure, trains — the terror of civilians continues”, — Fedorov noted.
According to him, the enemy constantly upgrades drone modifications and attack tactics to achieve its goals.
“Every day a new risk appears — for example, drones with Starlink. In reacting instantly to new challenges, we must build a system for analyzing, countering, and predicting future threats. For this we need an effective ‘small’ air defense system and interceptors. Under the President’s directive, we are changing the approach to air defense to improve the results”, — he said.
He reminded that recently one of the most effective commanders, Pavlo Yelizarov (callsign “Lazar”), was appointed Deputy Commander of the Air Force.
“Under his leadership, the ‘small’ air defense command is being formed — this direction is now led by Colonel Yevhenii Khlebnikov. His key task is to build a system capable of quickly responding to threats to protect the sky”, — Fedorov announced.
Khlebnikov is an officer with combat and managerial experience. He served in air defense missile units of the Air Force and worked in the General Staff on air defense development. He directed the use of Bayraktar UAVs during the defense of Kyiv and Chernihiv from the first days of the invasion and took part in planning the operation to liberate Snake Island. In 2014–2015 he fought in the battles for Donetsk Airport.
“In the near future we will strengthen management in each region and continue forming a strong team to develop the ‘small’ air defense system. These are the first decisions of the updated Defense Ministry team aimed at building an effective system for protecting Ukrainian airspace. But there is still much work ahead to achieve the desired results”, — Fedorov emphasized.
