CinC Syrskyi: this winter, Defense Forces face some of their most serious challenges
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi said that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are facing “some of the most serious challenges” since the start of the full-scale war.
According to Ukrinform, he wrote about this on Facebook.
"The enemy is intensifying its offensive actions, and our response must be as effective as possible. Unmanned systems play a key role in deterring Russian occupiers today, so we continue to scale up this area to save the lives of Ukrainian servicemen and inflict maximum losses on the enemy," Syrskyi said following a regular comprehensive meeting on the use of unmanned systems.
According to him, at the current stage of the war, drones account for about 60% of all enemy targets destroyed.
According to the Central Directorate of Unmanned Systems of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in November, unmanned aerial systems completed more than 304,000 missions, and ground-based robotic systems completed nearly 2,000. At the same time, according to the command of the Unmanned Systems Forces, a total of about 81,500 targets were hit or destroyed by drones.
Syrskyi noted that this indicator has been steadily growing over the past six months.
“After a period of relative parity, we are once again ahead of the enemy in the use of FPV drones, one of the main means of attack on the battlefield. At the same time, the development of this area requires even greater coordination, speed of decision-making, and consistency,” he said.
The enemy is actively increasing the production and range of UAVs, forming new units, and improving tactics. According to reports from Ukrainian intelligence agencies, the enemy aims to supply half a million FPV drones to its troops every month.
“Ukraine's response must be asymmetrical and effective: strengthening the fight against enemy drones and destroying the infrastructure of the enemy's unmanned forces,” Syrskyi emphasized.
Ukraine continues to scale up its unmanned systems units, particularly in territorial defense brigades, and is also developing NRK units in the Ground Forces. It is stepping up the training of specialists in all fields related to unmanned systems.
"An important part of the meeting at the General Staff is traditionally a dialogue with commanders and specialists who work with unmanned systems on the front line. This time, junior officers shared useful experience on increasing the survivability of UAV positions, using UAVs for remote mining, and new approaches to countering enemy operators," Syrskyi said.
The Commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine listened to the issues and proposals and gave instructions to the relevant military authorities to resolve them promptly.
As reported by Ukrinform, the Air Defense Forces destroyed 84 of the 110 Russian drones that the enemy used to attack Ukraine on the evening of December 8.