In a single week, the enemy launches approximately 3,000 Molniya UAVs at the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the operational zone of the 3rd Army Corps. A serviceman, the Head of the Third Army Corps’ air defense, “Bochka,” made this statement during the 18th annual Kyiv Security Forum, at the panel discussion "Holding Back the Sky: Lessons Learned from Ukraine’s Air Defence" organised in Cooperation with the Snake Island Institute.

"I'd like to talk about the Molniya UAV, which some dismiss as "junk", but it causes significant problems on the front lines. It constantly strains our air defense, overloads the detection system, and is evolving rapidly. To put it in perspective: currently, air defense units are destroying about 1,500 Molniya  drones per month, and this is just the beginning. The enemy continues to develop them. These drones are destroyed by kinetic means, but electronic warfare is also used against them," said Bochka.

He claims that the enemy launches approximately 3,000 Molniya UAVs per week at Ukrainian Defense Forces positions in the Third Army Corps' operational zone.

The serviceman explained that the corps had chosen three areas in which to develop air defense capabilities along the front lines. First and foremost is the development of UAVs, high-speed interceptors, and remote control. The second stage is training pilots and anti-aircraft gunners on aircraft-type UAVs that can strike the enemy on its own territory. 

Bochka added that the second priority is creating echelons of automated turrets to minimize soldier use. He mentioned that there are already successful examples of this. The third area of development relates to the fact that air defense is not prioritized when allocating the latest weapons. 

"Therefore, we must resort to tactical maneuvers to optimize our weapon usage. Due to the absence of the latest detection systems, it is impossible to establish a continuous air defense zone along the front line. This applies to traditional systems. However, we have made significant progress with interceptors.We have echelons in place,” the military official explained.

"Due to the change in the nature of combat operations and the emergence of new enemy weapons, we have deployed the first echelon of interceptors at the battalion level to destroy tactical-level air targets. The main problem on the front line right now is the enemy’s air operations,” said Bochka.

In other words, he emphasized that 70% of the damage is currently coming from the air. Therefore, the Corps sees strengthening air defense in battalions, brigades, and corps as the solution. This includes developing new approaches, from planning to forming new units.

Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) is an annual international event launched in 2007 on the initiative of Arseniy Yatsenyuk Open Ukraine Foundation. This year it is held on April 23-24.