The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff are creating a separate vertical for the development of military aviation
28 March 20:35
Ukraine is creating a separate vertical in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff that will deal only with the development of military aviation.
The head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, wrote about this on Telegram, Komersant ukrainskyi reports.
“Aviation – there will be great news. Back on February 4, the President met with representatives of civil society, the Ministry of Defense and the Office. Then there was a common understanding that the Ukrainian sky should be strong. Since then, the dialog has not stopped for a day. And today, we already have the first results. We are creating a separate vertical in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff that will deal only with the development of military aviation,” Yermak said.
According to Yermak, this is part of the President’s big task to make the Air Force even more powerful.
“F-16 and Mirage are already a reality. But we continue to work on improvement. We need everything to work as a system,” emphasized Yermak.
According to him, today Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, in agreement with the President, approved the following appointments:
- major General Oleksiy Marchenko was appointed Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- brigadier General Serhiy Holubtsov – Deputy Commander of the Air Force;
- colonel Oleksandr Dyakiv – Commander of Aviation and at the same time Deputy Commander of the Air Force.
Oleksandr Kozenko has also been nominated for appointment as Deputy Minister of Defense for Aviation.
“He has been working with me as an advisor for a long time – specifically on adapting the F-16 and Mirage to Ukrainian realities. Now he will scale up these solutions to the entire aviation system,” Yermak said.
According to him, air superiority is not just about airplanes. It’s about people’s lives, about supporting offensives, about a new level of the entire defense sector.
“I am proud to be a part of these changes inspired and actively promoted by our civil society. I am grateful to Yulia Marushevska, Hanna Hopko, Maria Berlinska, Liubov Shipovych, Lilia Averyanova, mother of the Hero of Ukraine Andriy “Juice” Pilshchikov – and everyone who works tirelessly for the common goal. Let’s keep moving. Without pauses. As a team. For victory,” summarized Yermak.
Umerov said on Facebook that Major General Oleksiy Marchenko has more than 30 years of service in aviation. He started as a pilot-instructor, served in reconnaissance and fighter aviation regiments, commanded a squadron and a tactical aviation brigade. He was the first deputy commander and later the commander of the Western Air Command.
He was in charge of the Specialized Aviation Training Center, worked in the structures of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Air Traffic Services Enterprise of Ukraine. He was one of those who systematically developed the combat capabilities of aviation during a full-scale war.
Brigadier General Serhii Holubtsov is one of the most experienced officers of the Air Force. He began his service in fighter aviation, commanded a squadron and a brigade, and was deputy commander of the Center and West Air Commands. He was a member of the leadership of the Air Force Command, responsible for personnel training and development of aviation capabilities.
Colonel Oleksandr Dyakiv has almost 30 years of military experience. He worked his way up from a pilot to a tactical aviation brigade commander. He was the head of the faculty of retraining and promotion
