We have neutralised 70% of Shahed threat and forecast 90% by end of year – NEMESIS brigade representative Yarmak
The war has changed and has shifted very powerfully into the airspace, making the neutralisation of large numbers of drones a new challenge.
Oleksandr Yarmak, company commander in the 412th Separate Brigade NEMESIS of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, said this during the 18th annual Kyiv Security Forum, titled "Darkness or Dawn: Is Light Ahead?", Censor.NET reports.
"The war has changed and has shifted very powerfully into the air domain. With the emergence of Shaheds, we saw that it is extremely difficult to intercept a huge number of drones. We had days with up to 1,000 drones. At present, we have reached the point where we have neutralised about 70% of the Shahed threat, and by the end of the year, we forecast 90-95%," he said.
Europe needs to build its own air defence
Yarmak advised European partners to use Ukraine’s experience and build the relevant infrastructure and systems.
"We are building a multilayered air defence system. We are building it by distributing targets and forming echelons in such a way that the closer we are to the border and the line of contact, the cheaper the means we try to use to intercept targets," he said.
According to the serviceman, the number of Shaheds Russia used last year and has used as of the beginning of April 2026 has doubled.
The Kyiv Security Forum (KSF) is an annual international event launched in 2007 at the initiative of Arseniy Yatseniuk’s Open Ukraine Foundation. This year, it is taking place on 23-24 April.
