Mykhailo Fedorov, together with the Ministry of Defense team and Pavlo Lazar, paid a working visit to Sumy Oblast.

Mykhailo Fedorov announced the visit on social media.

According to the Defense Minister, the primary purpose of the trip was to develop solutions to strengthen air defense amid Russia’s ongoing campaign of terror.

As part of the visit, a coordination meeting was held with the Head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, military personnel, and representatives of all relevant agencies to discuss the protection of the region’s airspace.

The delegation also visited the site of the Russian guided aerial bomb strike on central Sumy that occurred on July 3 and honored the memory of those killed.

Mykhailo Fedorov stressed that Russia is deliberately attacking peaceful Ukrainian cities, killing civilians, and destroying critical infrastructure.

Since the beginning of the year, Sumy Oblast has been under unprecedented fire pressure. Russia has carried out more than 12,000 strikes against the region.

“These include missile attacks, guided aerial bombs, strike drones of various types, and FPV drones. As a result of these attacks, 122 civilians have been killed, while more than 1,200 people have been injured, including many children”, — the Defense Minister emphasized.

More than 2,600 residential buildings, schools, hospitals, energy facilities, and civilian infrastructure sites have been damaged or destroyed.

Since June, the security situation in the region has deteriorated significantly.

“The enemy has changed its tactics and significantly expanded the use of Molniya UAVs, fiber-optic FPV drones, strike drones, and guided aerial bombs. Russia’s objective is to terrorize people and make life in the border regions unbearable”, — Mykhailo Fedorov stated.

Following the coordination meeting, a comprehensive package of measures to strengthen the region’s air defense was developed.

“The focus is on improving the effectiveness of air defense, expanding capabilities to counter strike drones and aerial threats, and protecting critical infrastructure, logistics, and civilians”, — the Minister noted.

Mykhailo Fedorov stressed that, for security reasons, some of the decisions cannot be made public. The key point, however, is that they are aimed at significantly strengthening the protection of Sumy Oblast.

“Additional decisions on coordinating the work of all government authorities to strengthen the protection of frontline regions from Russian aerial terror will be adopted in the near future. Protecting people and Ukrainian cities remains our unconditional priority”, — the Defense Minister concluded.