The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has approved the appointment of Colonel Yuriy Cherevashenko as the commander of unmanned aerial vehicle air defense systems. He will also serve as the deputy commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The relevant order has already been signed by Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Tasks for the New Commander and Air Defense Development
The President’s Office emphasized that a number of key tasks for Yuriy Cherevashenko were agreed upon at the Staff meeting. Among them, the active implementation of unmanned technologies, particularly interceptor drones, and the strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense with modern weaponry are of special importance.
“At the Staff meeting, we approved many tasks for the new leader. The active implementation of drones, specifically interceptor drones, and the strengthening of our air defense system with the latest weaponry are crucial,” Zelensky stated.
Yuriy Cherevashenko has significant experience in the field of air defense. He was one of the initiators of the creation of the first group of mobile rapid response air defense brigades and has recently been involved in organizing the operations of interceptor drones. In his new position, he is tasked with scaling the development of the unmanned component within the Air Forces.
Production of Interceptor Drones and Training of Specialists
The Ukrainian Defense Forces are actively developing the direction of interceptor drones, which are used both on the front lines and in rear areas. In November, Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine plans to reach the production of 500–800 interceptor drones daily.
Special attention is being paid to training operators to manage these unmanned vehicles, as the increase in the number of mobile fire groups requires an expansion of the specialist staff.
Russia continues to carry out daily attacks on Ukrainian regions using Shahed-type kamikaze drones. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian Federation is capable of producing up to 2,700 such drones per month.
In August, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine approved for use in the Armed Forces over 25 types of Ukrainian interceptor drone systems designed to combat Russian drones.