Russia preparing new massive strikes and blackouts; Syrskyi outlines Ukraine’s Air Defence priorities
Russia has not abandoned its attempts to seize Ukrainian territory and continues trying to plunge Ukrainian cities and villages into blackouts through massive aerial attacks, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Syrskyi emphasized that at this stage, the key task of Ukraine’s Defence Forces is the destruction of the enemy’s aerial attack assets, which Russia employs daily. He noted that tangible military results form the basis for successful diplomacy.
The commander-in-chief highlighted that the priority remains the strengthening of UAV interceptor capabilities. This involves increasing the number of intercepting drones, ground stations, and radar systems, as well as enhancing the training of crews.
“Our key task at this stage is to strengthen the UAV-interceptor direction, increase the number of corresponding drones, ground stations, and radar systems, and expand both the volume and quality of crew training,” Syrskyi said.
According to him, within Ukraine’s layered air defence system, interception lines are already being established at a distance from major cities. The use and effectiveness of UAV interceptors are gradually increasing, though the pace of operations must be accelerated.
Syrskyi also reported the formation of air defence UAV divisions and the creation of dedicated UAV interceptor units within training centers. To counter Shahed drones, army aviation, light aviation, and international partner supportare also being utilised.
“The enemy takes advantage of weather conditions, upgrades its strike drones, and changes their tactics, attacking at extremely low altitudes. Accordingly, we are modernizing our countermeasures and adapting the system to achieve the necessary results,” the commander-in-chief concluded.
It is worth recalling that on the night of 30 December, Russian forces carried out a massive aerial strike on Ukraine. From 18:00 on 29 December, the enemy launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from temporarily occupied Crimea and Russia’s Voronezh region, along with 60 strike drones, including Shahed, Gerbera, and other types, from Russian territory and temporarily occupied Crimea. About 40 of the drones were Shaheds.
