Butusov was commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s statement that air defenses intercept only 57% of jet-powered Shahed drones. He said the figure was not surprising.
“To my knowledge, no systemic efforts have been made over the past year to develop air defenses,” the officer said.
“Neither the radar network nor the organization of air defense operations has been strengthened. More precisely, there have been improvements, but at such a minimal pace that these reforms have not yet had a significant impact on the organization and structure of air defense.”
He also said the dismissal of Pavlo Yelizarov as deputy commander of Ukraine’s Air Force was linked not only to Mykhailo Fedorov’s removal as defense minister this summer, but also to uncertainty over who is responsible for drone-focused air defense in Ukraine and why there has been no systematic development in that area.
“I think Yelizarov’s dismissal is also connected to the fact that he simply did not see how systemic changes in air defense could be implemented amid the authorities’ irresponsible attitude toward protecting the country,” Butusov said.
On Sept. 28, Zelenskyy said that during massive Russian drone attacks, Ukraine’s air defenses intercept about 70% of the drones, while the interception rate for jet-powered drones is 57%.
On Sept. 26, Zelenskyy said Russia plans to spend $12
billion next year solely on producing jet-powered drones and loitering
munitions. He also said Russian forces had attacked Ukraine with more than
2,730 jet-powered Shahed drones during September, and that more than 1,500 had
been destroyed or suppressed by electronic warfare.