USF could increase its strikes on Crimea sevenfold, but funding delays are preventing this, - Madyar
The Ukrainian military could carry out significantly more strikes against Russian military targets in Crimea if funding from Western partners were to arrive more quickly.
According to Censor.NET, Robert (Madyar) Brovdi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, made this statement in an interview with the Associated Press.
He noted that currently, the USF has only about 14% of the resources needed for a full-scale campaign to destroy the Russian Federation’s military infrastructure on the occupied peninsula.
According to Brovdi, the problem lies not in the production capabilities of the Ukrainian defense industry, but in delays in funding.
"It’s not that the production capacity of Ukrainian manufacturers doesn’t allow us to make the necessary quantities of drones. It’s the banal problem of untimely financing, which our partners do allocate, but which moves significantly slower than our plans," the commander explained.
The USF is systematically destroying Russian air defense systems in Crimea
Brovdi described the strikes on Crimea as the first phase of a campaign aimed at depriving Russia of the ability to use the peninsula as a military foothold.
"Crimea falls within the key conceptual pillars on the path to ending the war," he emphasised.
The commander of the USF reported that over the past few months, his unit has destroyed more than 300 Russian air defense systems. These include, in particular, anti-aircraft missile systems, radars, and electronic warfare systems.
According to Brovdi, this campaign has resulted in a significant reduction in the Russian military’s ability to launch missile strikes from the territory of Crimea. During the Russian Federation’s last four large-scale missile attacks, only five missiles were launched from the peninsula.
He also noted that Ukrainian forces use various types of drones and munitions depending on the nature of the target. According to him, provided they have the necessary communications and capabilities, operators can attack even well-protected military facilities.
The goal of the campaign, as Brovdi explained, is to create conditions under which Russia will no longer be able to effectively use Crimea for military operations.
Madyar spoke about the campaign against Wildberries
Separately, the commander of the USF commented on the strikes against the Russian retail chain Wildberries.
Brovdi called the company an important supply platform and, in effect, part of Russia’s military logistics. According to him, the campaign against Wildberries is intended not only to damage the company’s infrastructure but also to demonstrate the consequences of the war to Russian society.
He did not specify the exact duration of this campaign. At the same time, Brovdi stated that the attacks will continue until the company loses the ability to quickly resume its operations.
"It turned out to be a sensitive sensor of the comfort of Russia’s massive population — people who consider themselves completely untouched by the actions of the aggressor country," the USF commander said.
