Kiev strengthens air defences amid rising drone threats

Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Thursday that the country is working to enhance the performance of interceptor drones to better defend against Russian aerial assaults.

In recent months, the Ukrainian military has increasingly relied on interceptor drones as the most effective and cost-efficient method to counter the intensifying Russian drone attacks, compared with traditional air defence missile systems.

Writing on social media, Syrskyi said a meeting of senior officials on Thursday focused on ways to improve the country’s defences against incoming drones.

“We are creating a layered system to counter enemy Shahed and Geran drones,” he said.
“Our shared task is to train more crews, more interceptor operators, and provide them with more effective weapons and radars. Following the meeting, tasks were set to address shortcomings and strengthen work on interceptor drones.”

Officials also received reports on the current effectiveness of interceptors and prospects for increasing supply.

“Air defence is a priority for the country, for the armed forces, and for me personally as commander-in-chief,” Syrskyi wrote.
“Safety in the Ukrainian rear depends on the results achieved from our ‘anti-Shahed’ system and the reliability of our anti-missile defences.”

Despite ongoing discussions of potential peace talks to end more than three-and-a-half years of conflict with Moscow, Russia continues to deploy large numbers of drones and other weapons in attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine’s air force reported on Wednesday that it had shot down 430 of 502 drones and 21 of 24 missiles launched overnight by Russia. In July, Russian forces reportedly launched at least 700 drones overnight on Ukrainian targets.

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