Changes underway to Ukraine’s air defences
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gathered his top officers to discuss shortcomings in air defense and other aspects of protecting civilians from attack almost four years after Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking in his nightly video speech on Tuesday, Zelenskiy also evaluated how local authorities in Ukrainian cities are struggling in the wake of major Russian attacks, especially in providing electricity and heating to high-rise apartments.
Criticism in the capital Kiev has once again highlighted its officials.
Zelenskiy said that he had long meetings with the army’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, chief of staff Andrii Hnatov and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.
“There are a lot of changes happening in air defense efforts right now,” he said.
“In some regions, the way the teams work, the interceptors, the mobile fire units, the entire small air defense component is being almost completely rebuilt,” Zelenskiy said. he said.
“But that’s just one element of defense that requires change. There will be changes.”
The president has frequently pointed out that advanced air defenses are critical to protecting cities from air strikes and has asked Kiev’s Western allies to provide more weapons to neutralize incoming missiles and drones.
He said last week that defense lines in some areas were inefficient, with hundreds of residences still without heating after air strikes targeting energy infrastructure.
Writing on Telegram after officials’ daily meeting on energy issues, Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal said teams were working day and night to restore heating in Kiev, where night temperatures will drop below minus 19 degrees.
After his meeting with senior officials, Zelenskiy said that the Kharkiv and Poltava regions in Central and Northeastern Ukraine, as well as some parts of the Odessa region on the Black Sea, are experiencing difficulties with electricity.
He renewed his criticism of decision-makers in Kiev, where he is at odds with Mayor Vitali Klitschko, as well as in his hometown of Kryvyi Rih and Okhtyrka, near the Russian border.
“Every community leader and responsible service should really pay attention to what’s happening in buildings and networks,” he said.
“We are monitoring at every level and people will be held personally accountable.”
