Deputy chief commander of Ukraine's Armed Forces appointed commander of new Unmanned Systems Forces

Vadym Sukharevskyi, deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was appointed the commander of the newly-created Unmanned Systems Forces on June 10, the General Staff reported.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov signed the decree on June 10, the General Staff said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree creating a separate branch of Ukraine's Armed Forces dedicated to drones on Feb. 6.

The Unmanned Systems Forces were created to improve Ukraine's work with drones, creating special drone-specific units, ramping up training, systemizing their use, increasing production, and pushing innovation.

As the deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Sukharevskyi was responsible for the unmanned systems and the development of their usage on Ukraine's battlefield.

Drones have been a key tool in Ukraine's defense against Russia's war. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in January that surpassing Russia in drone operations is one of the top priorities in 2024.

Opinion: Ukraine’s naval drones are taking over the Black Sea

Russian forces have encountered a new enemy in the Black Sea: Ukraine’s arsenal of naval kamikaze drones. These deceptively small unmanned vehicles have targeted Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since September 2022, picking off Russian battleships one by one. The latest of Ukraine’s maritime conquests was…

The Kyiv IndependentAndrii Kharuk