Yurii Fedorenko, Commander of Strike Unmanned Aerial System Battalion "Achilles" of 92nd SAB: When war ends, top military officers will be blamed for all grief, heads of "warlords" will roll
Yurii Fedorenko, Commander of Strike Unmanned Aerial System Battalion "Achilles" of 92nd SAB, talked to Anna Miroshnychenko about the operation in the Kursk region, the threat of nuclear weapons, the dry law, politics, money and help from partners.
In the programme "Who is with Miroshnychenko?", the serviceman shared his thoughts on mobilization, the TCR and the threats he sees for the military after the victory.
I don't want to live in the European Union, actually, physically in these countries. I am not interested. I have been to all these countries. I respect and appreciate the interesting culture, but it is not my homeland. I don't want to live in the United States of America, it's mentally different. We have to take the best from them, as they take from us, but I don't want to live there. I want to live on this God-given land. The state of Ukraine is my motherland. It is important to me. I want my children to be born in Ukraine and live here. Why? We have everything for life. We have mountains, we have rivers, we have fertile land, we have intelligence, we have businesses. We just had no one to put everything together and do it right. But the state is relatively young.
- A motivated team that has gathered in a territorial defense rifle unit. I have repeatedly told you that 90-95% of the people took up arms for the first time. The contingent is very interesting, the whole social cross-section: entrepreneurs, politicians, laborers, teachers, doctors, people who have served their sentences for committing crimes and serious crimes but were released at that time, students... the whole social cross-section came to defend the Motherland, and when I voice a thesis for which I am hated and may be so, then, as time passes, we will definitely implement it, I am sure we will, and future generations will say "thank you." This is about the fact that everyone should be liable for military service.
- The tasks were completed successfully, and we returned for round out and then to the state border. We are returning in a good mood and returning to this song. This is Achilles, Medmax, Hans, Shabat, Bezsmina, the team of the 4th company.
- In May, we moved to the East, to a rather difficult theater of operations. In August, 60% of the unit was already able to pilot UAVs, of which we had three, and we covered 30 kilometers of the battlefield by then: we defended a settlement and additionally provided additional reconnaissance for our artillery. After the entire Kharkiv counteroffensive, we were offered to move from the TDF to the 92nd Assault Brigade. And I will never forget this offer - Pavlo Yuriiovych Fedosenko - we love, appreciate, respect, and are extremely grateful for his comprehensive support, assistance, and ruling with a tight grip. I will dream about Colonel Fedosenko after the victory, God willing, we will all be alive, for a very long time. A person who knows how to organize processes and keep the personnel on their toes, I will say so gently.
So, he made me an offer from the TDF, he said: "Listen, you are performing tasks with drones, in fact, and you are doing quite well. Now, on the initiative of Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhnyi, a company of strike unmanned aerial vehicles is being introduced into the troops, so let's go to us!" At that time, I had 91 people in my command plus 10 were passed down to me, and we were assigned to the 92nd Assault Brigade. I talked to the guys and 47 of the 91st agreed to move to the 92nd Assault Brigade. Why is this number, half? The rest, but this is the whole social cross-section we talked about, these are people who were of a certain age. And these six months of full-scale war brought up all the chronic diseases, all the diseases that manifest themselves during nervous stress, and so on. Despite the motivation and professionalism of these guys, they simply could not physically continue to perform combat missions. I appreciate each of them, who are now serving in other territorial defense units. 47 people joined the 92nd Assault Brigade. In 2023, according to the Forbes assessment, which was based on NATO standards, we were evaluated in terms of equipment, training, support, planning, combat missions, adjacency with other units in the Defense Forces, and we were ranked third in Ukraine in seven points. Not even so, we were in the top three, but the first two were not named.
- So maybe this is the first?
- Okay, top three, let it be third.
- What is the secret of a successful battalion?
- The team of additional funding and you have to work 24-7, and a little more, for tomatoes, and then there will be a result. Constant self-improvement, training, self-motivation, motivation of personnel and constant attraction of additional resources for the war. War is very expensive. It is very expensive. Today, we are raising $4 million in additional funding for the war effort every month. Therefore, the main formula for success is probably a professional, motivated team, plus additional funding.
- I've always wanted to ask the military, at this stage, is it not a shame to approach people and ask for money? You know how the military says, "Friends, please, send some money for coffee... And sometimes you look and see this cool military man, very powerful. And he stands there and asks people, who, unfortunately, are mostly indifferent, for this money. How do you, the military, feel when there are few donors and you have to ask?
- There is no limit at all. Look, let me get this straight. I'm not asking, this is a very important point, because in communication, some business representatives, some individuals, as I call them: "Bro, we will help you, we will do everything for you," and so on. I say: "Friends, not me. You have businesses in Ukraine. If Ukraine is unsuccessful in this war, kats**es will take possession of your businesses by force. And you will not be left there. This resource will be used by the Russian Federation. You will return to point zero. The money you have abroad will quickly run out. This is a normal practice if you do not replenish it. Therefore, please realize, and this is addressing the nation now, you are helping not only the Achilles battalion, you are helping yourself, your family, you are helping the state and future generations to be safe." Through the Achilles Battalion, which you provide resources to, and as a result, we save the lives and health of our military who are performing combat missions at zero line, and we take away the lives and health of the military. For me, there is no difficulty in turning to Ukrainians and asking for this help. It's not humiliating for me because we are performing tasks together: people provide, we actually perform combat missions. Plus, in addition to the salary, it's a little different for the personnel, for myself, I probably spent in the region of 200 thousand on myself over the entire period of time, well, probably in the region of 200 thousand.
- What is it for?
- It's just some stuff like that, some goodies, pre-war sneakers that I have on now, maybe to order a T-shirt, I don't know. Basically, I don't need anything.
- So all the money, all your salary goes to the war?
- Yes, absolutely.
- What is your salary, Yurii?
- It is high. My salary is... I spend 98% of my time at war, so I get 100+, probably 120 a little over.
- This is a high salary for a military man in the current conditions - 100 thousand hryvnias.
- For those who are at zero line, on the front line, no, but they are provided with additional allowances, and they receive about 70 thousand. The main thing is that the commanders work it out correctly, record when a particular person is on the front line when they are drawn in. In total, it comes out to about 5 thousand dollars, give or take, if everything is counted correctly, a soldier can get a salary that is at the zero line. For an officer, a salary of 3 thousand dollars at the moment, given that the country is in a full-scale war, seems to me to be enough. When we say that we have ended the war and are fighting for a professional army, of course, the salary will have to be raised.
- And a salary of 30 thousand hryvnias?
- This is a story about instructors, by the way. The basis for saving lives and ensuring results on the battlefield is training. This is ours, no, we did not make it up, unfortunately. I would like to say that this is the Achilles battalion... Training solves almost everything on the battlefield. Instructors are people who must be able to know how to pass on the experience, including combat, that they have to the future generation. For those who sit on our hands, let's call it this way: to motivate, to find the right words, to use the system of coercion if necessary. You understand. Imagine a person who was at zero line, got 100+ in the district and then has to work full-time in the rear, and he gets 30 as an instructor. It shouldn't be like that, they won't teach anyone anything. Those who are highly motivated still have families behind them, where they need to pack a schoolbag for school, where they need to buy, treat, provide for, and so on. Therefore, 30 thousand hryvnias is...
- How do you see a way out of this situation? There are so many people with similar stories. I think they will write the same in the comments. I just did an interview recently and spoke to a commander who told me that he has 32,500 plus bonuses. He said that if he doesn`t get a bonus, he doesn`t know how I can live and stay in the military because he needs to rent an apartment, they have a young family, and it's 32,500 in Kyiv.
- It's below the poverty line, I would say so. I understand that there are much lower salaries in Kyiv. If you look at how much representatives of medical institutions, orderlies, nurses, etc. get paid, it's beyond the pale. Now we are talking about the military. We have to be honest and frank with ourselves, there is almost no money in the state, we are completely subsidized, now due to the support of the West. Despite the way our partners are behaving, we'll put an ellipsis, and I'll tell you everything after we win, for sure. If I'm still in the ranks by then, believe me, it will be very interesting.
As for our financial support, we are fully subsidized, our partners provide us with finances, among other things. The budget in Ukraine is in a very bad state, of course, the state is losing so much money due to the war and we have to spend so much on the war, but we have to set ourselves these priorities. A strong army is a powerful state. Why a powerful state? Because the army forms the security background. And only where it is safe can they potentially give money for future development. So, one way or another, we need to find this money. We need to persuade, buy, whatever, but we need to provide for the military. If we do not retain the potential of the personnel we have in the army, we are dead. We need to talk about this now, while I am still in the military, and it may not be correct, but we will. When certain officials are accused of incompetence.
- The military?
- Military officers, yes, who are now generals. Let's see how this happened. The collapse of the Soviet Union, the 90s, these are either graduates or graduates a few years later who received "lieutenants" and joined the army. The army is being deliberately killed by the Russian Federation, despite the fact that Russia was not weak at that time, they did everything possible to export ammunition through corruption, blow up warehouses, export armored vehicles, and deprive us of any potential. Because Ukraine has become a free state, and it is clear that we will determine the vector of our future development. Therefore, the task for both the West and the Russian Federation was to make us as weak as possible. At this time, the salary for the military is minimal, there are almost no social guarantees, and children need additional financial support. They should at least be fed, and I'm not talking about education and everything else. Those who stayed in the army. Some left the army because the military are smart people, that's it. Someone from the army went into private business, someone went to work abroad, someone went, unfortunately, along a different route, a criminal one. But, nevertheless, there are still those in the army who could not be found themselves anywhere else. 85% and 15% of motivated officers who, despite all the burdens of military service and the extremely negative attitude of the state and society towards the military, found the ability to develop the army in one way or another. 15% of them are, and they have now become generals, among other things.
The rest are the ones who look at his "wage scale" in terms of positions, his report, his "according to", how to bring something in. They have no idea what is happening on the battlefield. What should happen? We have to produce a result on the battlefield and adapt the entire mechanism to ensure that this result is achieved. I can't say, they say it's a paper army and so on. There are a lot of clever things there, but times change, realities change, the battlefield changes, we have to ensure the result and, accordingly, introduce certain changes in the rear units, in particular. And with whom to implement changes if at the level of colonels...? The war ends at the level of the brigade commander. Most brigade commanders in the Defense Forces are sane and highly motivated people, at least those with whom I have had the opportunity to cooperate and interact. The last officer to fight is the brigade commander. The rest are TGs, OTGs, OSGTs. With high respect for them, with high respect for everyone, they do very good organizational things, and so on and so forth, but I have not worked with many where there are very good staff, although there have been some.
- Tell me, you have just knocked on the table, about these people you have just talked about, can they not be fired because they are "not fired"? Or, if they are fired, will they not be replaced by new, ambitious, energetic people like you?
- I cannot say that I am energetic. You see, my presence in the Defense Forces is connected exclusively with the following: I realize that we are fighting for the right to life. I repeat. If Ukraine fails, we will all be killed - either immediately or gradually, you have to understand this. Our families will be killed as well. And those who are walking around now, thinking that it doesn't matter to me whether I'm wearing yellow and blue or Aquafresh, they will be killed too - this is how Russia works, this is how the Russian Empire works. That is why we are fighting for the right to live. While performing tasks in a full-scale war, my idea of the Defense Forces was fixed and concreted quite clearly. A strong army = a successful and developed country, because it is our security. Accordingly, I sincerely believe and would like the state to be able to create the prerequisites and retain highly motivated professional people in the army, both through salaries and other social guarantees. The army must be professional. I will tell you more, I did not plan my career as a military officer and still do not, but if the army needs something to build the foundation of a launching beachhead that will allow it to develop and grow, I am ready to spend some of my life on it.
- I read that discipline is the main thing there, and I read that you have a "dry law" and are too strict in this regard. And it's probably the same with drugs. Is there a problem with alcohol and drugs in the army now?
- Yes, it is a serious problem.
- Tell us about it. It's just that this is a topic, you know, it's very delicate and usually not talked about. Just like certain diseases in the army.
- I cannot say that I am the most compassionate commander. We have strict discipline with all its manifestations. I don't see the point in immediately taking a soldier into the military law enforcement service, for example, because it leads to nothing. He is deprived of his bonus, and that's it. If he is a hopeless person, he should be given a way to another place, if he is a person worth fighting for, he follows a certain procedure that is defined in the unit. And after this procedure, he stays sober for a very long time. I cannot say that there are no 100% problems with alcohol or drugs in the Achilles battalion. From time to time, certain problematic issues arise in different units from people who were never expected to. It happens. People are stressed, and this should be treated with understanding. We have two cases. Why two times? First, if it had no impact on combat work, somewhere between going to a combat position, it had no impact, neither on the preparatory nor on the organizational work, conditionally, you drank in the evening, went to sleep, and in the morning you didn't pick up the phone an hour later and didn't have to go to a combat position at that time. Conditionally. This first warning, according to a certain procedure, I will not voice. And then there is a second warning. After the third, we say "Goodbye". If it affected combat work, or, God forbid, endangered someone else in the military, they are punished very severely, very severely. And then we don't talk anymore. This person lives in another reality, in other structural units of the Defense Forces.
- You are a politician, right?
- I am not talking about this now. I have people serving in my unit who are from one political force, and I'm deliberately not saying which one, not because I don't respect it, not because I think it's ineffective. In general, the current parliament of the Verkhovna Rada is probably one of the most effective parliaments of all time, despite all the problems it has had.
- Are you serious?
- Absolutely. If you look at the level of reforms and changes that have been adopted, this is one of the most effective parliaments. This is the first parliament where people entered, as provided for by the Constitution of Ukraine, ordinary citizens. They were involved in one thing or another, engaged in some kind of activity, but the percentage of ordinary citizens in the Verkhovna Rada has become much higher than it was before. 95% of the members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine since independence have been representatives of financial and industrial groups who were delegated to these seats. Having organized ourselves in rulers, we have now come to politics, and I would not like to see the theme of "small principalities". Majoritarian people's deputies are local kings with all the ensuing troubles, which then have a negative effect because stability does not always give an opportunity for movement and development. That's why I think this parliament is absolutely revolutionary.
The fact that they made a lot of mistakes is true. The fact that they did not fully work out the issues related to full-scale war - yes, I will not idealize about this, but the situation in which Ukraine found itself is not a matter of one day. This is a question of the systematic destruction of Ukrainian statehood since 1991. Including at the expense of affiliates and members of the Verkhovna Rada of various convocations from pro-Russian forces.
Or, like, a pro-Ukrainian force, but with full sponsorship from the Russian Federation. And how to organize it for the future? The military will not be in the parliament when we win.
- But why?
- Not in the amount that everyone thinks. Let me explain. The state, the citizens of Ukraine have not realized all the grief that has happened. They haven't realized it yet. Even when talking to friends and acquaintances, we do not understand the outflow of people abroad, how many we have lost. We don't fully understand how many people were killed, tortured and murdered. To the end. What financial and material resources our state has lost and where we will be when the full-scale war is over. The first 7-10 years will be very difficult. When the full-scale war is over, everything that was out of time will become the top topic of discussion in Ukraine. People's consciousness will begin to turn over, and there will be no one to blame, it will be very painful and offensive. For those things that they don't even ask themselves now. The top military will be blamed for all the grief, and it has already begun: the decision-makers, I mean the General Staff, the level of the Commander-in-Chief, and so on, and the heads of the "warlords" will roll. We will be to blame for everything that has happened.
- You, i.e. Yurii Fedorenko, will be guilty of...
- Yurii Fedorenko and other military officers, field commanders and senior military leadership in what happened in the country.
- Are the military ready for this?
- What choice do we have? And I have to tell you that those who will be judged and accused will be those who are not even heard of now. You will just see. Unfortunately, it was not my idea. This has happened before, as Kuchma said. One of those who is directly involved in the destruction of Ukrainian statehood said, "This has happened before." So it's nothing new. And the percentage of the military will be low. Plus, in addition, if you've noticed, the military is already being discredited through the TCR, through various quarrels that are made public by those who shouldn't be doing this.
- Mariana Bezuhla.
- The process has begun, I am not discussing personalities. Time will judge everyone and put everything in its proper place.
- How do you assess the work of the TCR at this stage? Has anything changed or is something changing?
- It is changing, but we have a stalemate in the country. On the one hand, mobilization processes enable the frontline to receive the resources that are being strengthened by trained personnel. Those areas that are being gradually collapsed due to the enemy's very active actions are being reinforced. On the other hand, we are killing our production, we are killing industry we are killing critical infrastructure because, first of all, people are being dragged away from where? From the systemic structures: state-owned enterprises, municipal enterprises, factories, and so on. It's 2022, the end of summer, and the issue of mobilization should have been actively discussed and the necessary laws, including economic exemption, should have been prepared. Let me try to explain the logic here. I have a specialist, for example, our operator, and the company cannot operate without him. I pay him a certain salary. Okay, I can economically exempt him for a year, hire you for that year, and train you roughly what your operator does. Thus, after that, he goes to perform his military duty, and you fulfill his functions. The company does not tighten up, and everything is fine. A certain number of employees cannot be trained quickly in a year, but I think that, one way or another, we can talk about each company separately. It's just that other issues arise there. For example, there is an ammunition manufacturing company that is privately owned and works for the military-industrial complex. And there is an online lottery that is registered in Ukraine and pays taxes in the same way. And it is necessary to exempt ammunition workers economically, and there is a lottery that robs the military, you know? There are many issues that our legislators must deal with, among other things. I don't envy the Verkhovna Rada this cadence at all. So, at the moment, I have to tell you that we have to develop recruiting companies and one way or another, our state is moving towards that. I think the beginning of 2025, I'm sure, we will almost completely enter the recruitment companies and stop seeing people being taken away in TCR buses. It's somewhere around the beginning of 2025, maybe spring of 2025.
- I want to tell you, Yurii, that a good part of the population thinks that the war will be over by the beginning of the 2025th. There is such an opinion.
- If that happens, great.
- I mean, do people have any motivation to join the army right now? When they are told about negotiations, about a certain plan, which, by the way, is already ready, the president will take it to our partners. So will there be motivation next year?
- But we've had it, we've had "2-3 weeks," we've had six months, we've had "the taste of victory," we'll win tomorrow or in six months. In any business, and this applies not only to a complex war but also to civilian affairs, you should always prepare for the worst. When you go to take an exam, one or the other, you need to be in the material. You can pull out the ticket you know the least and give answers. There may be a teacher who has a special attitude towards you, whatever, you have to be prepared for the worst. And if you are so lucky that they just look at the academic record and give you a good mark, it's great, it means you did well. If the worst-case scenario happens, you will definitely pass and move on. In the fight for life that we have now, we must be prepared to fight for a long time. The war will be long, so the country needs to be put on a wartime footing, mobilization processes need to be properly set up, and critical infrastructure and enterprises need to be operational. We have to prepare for this. And if it happens that on some positions something is agreed upon, and the Ukrainian people will not be able to influence it but will take it for granted, well, okay, then we will have to deal with that situation. It's much worse if we think that in six months everything will be over, and in six months it will only get worse.
- Do you theoretically assume that the war could end next year?
- I don't see any reason to change my mind yet, and I don't see any conditions under which this could happen. I can answer this question in early December if you are interested. US. It all depends on how the elections in November end in the US, the president has to take office, and somewhere in early December, even mid-December, it will be clear what the future vector is. Are they going to end this war, or will there be additional assistance, and then we can say for sure how long the war will last. At the moment, we need to understand how our partners are acting. I just swear to you, all my life I thought that there were some smart people sitting there, with three or four degrees, who understand how this world works, understand the high things, how money circulates. This is what I see. A kindergarten. You know, when they say, "This is my candy." Okay, and we took the candy, and the teacher didn't see it, the United States didn't see it, oh, they didn't see it, okay, we'll sit down. Oops, teacher, give the candy back, the United States says, to the partners. Oh, yes, indeed, we do have it. I don't know if I've managed to convey the depth of the depths, but it is true. Because, like, if you look at what our partners are doing now, the general vector is "helping Ukraine." Ukrainian diplomats are doing more than enough. I'm telling you, I don't know who could do more. If we had more friendliness inside, we'll go back to the political issue, more friendliness and less opposition to each other, I think we could have a much better negotiating position and much more investment in the state and aid. We will also talk about this after the war. Unfortunately, we could not find this understanding and unity. And to use all our potential and the resources of those who can do it. About "Partners"...
- Partners or friends? Let's define it now.
- Partners.
- Not friends?
- No, no, no. There are no friends in Ukraine, and I try not to use this issue, this wording, like friends, ever. And I'll tell you more, not only in Ukraine, but they don't have friends within themselves either. There are situational partners with whom interests coincide: security, financial, or any other. I won't name some countries, because they steal from us during the war. What is meant by that? There is country X, this country X says: "We are ready to allocate one billion to support Ukraine, but we will supply only what is produced in our country by our enterprises." Ukraine says to them: "Look, you don't have what we need.
What is available is fine, but there are no certain means. This also applies to UAVs, in particular.
They say there are no failures. You have a Ukrainian manufacturer in your country that produces what Ukraine needs. We are ready to buy it. And the manufacturer, stepping on his, I'm sorry... because this is his creation, this is his child, he realizes that so much of this equipment can enter Ukraine, he is forced to sell his license. And all this technology, all the modernization will continue to be carried out by that country. So where is that friendship, what kind of friends are they? These are situational partners with whom a temporary interest coincided. Therefore, in international politics, there are no friends, only partners.
- Do our partners want Ukraine to win?
- They definitely do not want Ukraine to lose.
- This is an indistinct wording.
- Let me explain. Our partners are interested in the state of Ukraine existing on the world map. With what territorial boundaries? It is in their interest to declare that it is within the generally recognized world borders of 1991. This is how our partners see it. But the fact that there is a war in our country does not really bother the world very much. When people say that the world is tired... In any case, I don't see it from my level. If we talk about the top leaders of the country, they have to do this, they have to think, they have sent off all the junk of their military equipment, which we use to perform combat missions. They gave us some of the latest weapons, which have proven themselves very well, and now they have received billions of dollars in contracts from other partner countries to produce these weapons. That is to say, they have definitely not lost financially from the war in Ukraine. And when I hear that their partners are not adding money, they say they are not there or we are not ready, and so on. Friends, you have not spent anything. You have earned enormous money just by doing this. I wouldn't say that the war happened on purpose for someone to make money. No, no, no. It's just that all the countries that are helping us have very positive dividends.
- You do understand that without this junk you are talking about now, nothing would have happened, right?
- And I'm not downplaying the importance. It is very important. Financial assistance from all our partner countries, military, material, innovative - without it, Ukraine would not have withstood. It`s true. And we have to recognize and thank the world for supporting us. And there is a prospect that they will continue to support us in the future. I'm just saying that when we say give more, we don't mean that we are begging with an outstretched hand. Because they are not losing enormously on the war in Ukraine, and they have their own positive dividends, including technological ones. Moreover, these countries, no matter how the Budapest Memorandum was written, and I have said my opinion about Kuchma, have guaranteed security in one way or another. And what is happening in Ukraine has a very negative impact on further international politics, to use a childish example. North Korea. They have nuclear weapons, they are developing nuclear programs, they have steady support from the Russian Federation and other countries. So something is changing in the world. Russia has failed. This is an opportunity to negotiate in order to disarm nuclear weapons and thus remove the threat to the world. After Ukraine, which country will believe that there can be any security and guarantees? No country will. And the way the United States has discredited itself in the whole war and support of Ukraine, that takes the cake. They just heavily bulldozed their credibility which will have consequences for many years.
- Do you think the world is afraid of the Russian Federation now? And when they make statements about nuclear weapons, for example. Does the world take Putin's statements seriously? Even the statements of those deputies who, remember, one of them said that let's detonate a nuclear bomb somewhere in Russia.
- In the Kursk region, like, we can't use it on the territory of Ukraine.
- How does the world react to such statements? Are they afraid? Or do they really think that these are sick people? Let them speak.
-No, they don't think so. They are afraid of Russia. Ukraine has signed a number of conventions, some of which prohibit us from using certain weapons. In particular, this is unguided anti-personnel mining and so on. The Russian Federation will use everything except nuclear weapons. All available mining, naphthenic acid, phosphorus, gases, poisoning, and so on. It uses everything against Ukraine. When does Russia retreat or reduce its activity? When we, the Defense Forces, clean their clocks very, very, very hard. That is, on a specific small principle, I have now explained that the Russian Federation understands only force and that an enemy who does not follow any rules and regulations must be treated equally. So, instead of trying to regulate relations with the Russian Federation through institutions that were somehow stillborn and some of them lost their relevance after the Second World War, we need to build up our capacities and say to the Russian Federation every time, slapping it in the hand: "You can't do this!" Let me give you some specific examples. Did they give permission to use high-precision weapons at a certain distance? This significantly stopped the enemy. They gave it, okay. Give permission for the use of high-precision weapons in depth. Ukraine has shown that there will be no harm in doing so. Is a nuclear war possible? No, it is not. At the moment it is not. It would mean the end of the world. Who is interested in this? No one is interested in this. That's why our partners really need to stop being afraid of Russia; they are afraid of it, and they are panicked. Plus, we must not forget that in any unclear situation, look for money. Let's be frank, financial and economic relations continue with other countries, including the European Union.
- Tell me, do you think the Kursk operation is a manifestation of our strength, how do you assess it? And how do you see its future prospects?
- This is one of those vital steps. Briefly, why. The enemy was very actively reconnoitering the Sumy region, and subversive reconnaissance groups were working constantly. It was only a matter of time before they crossed the Kursk region, either on the boarder with the Kharkiv region or entered the Sumy region itself. That is, we would have had another hot spot on the territory of Ukraine. Second. We have shown politically that it is possible. For the first time since the Second World War, part of the territory of the Russian Federation was under the influence of another state. Third. We have drawn in the enemy's forces and means. When people say that the Donetsk direction has collapsed due to the Kursk operation, they do not fully realize what would have happened if there had been no Kursk region. And this resource of trained military personnel, which was forged inside the Russian Federation, would not have been used to overcome this counteraction. We would have had a hell of a time in Kharkiv. The proximity of the city of Kharkiv to the state border with the Russian Federation raises certain problematic issues. Therefore, this measure would have been forced, and as a result, the enemy in the Kharkiv region was not successful.
As for Kupiansk, it has had some partial success, but the situation there is very close to stabilization. Third. This is the drawing in of the enemy's forces and means. Fourth. We have captured enough Kadyrovites, who are now the first to be actively exchanged for those who have been in Russian captivity for a long time, and in particular for people who have the high title of Hero of Ukraine. Ka***ps do not exchange Heroes of Ukraine. This is also quite important. Plus, we have demonstrated to the world that Ukraine can be not only on the defense, but also conduct offensive actions where it is possible. And not when our partners say, "Let's go through 7 lines of defense and prove ourselves, we gave you 3 Abrams or 30, it doesn't matter, it doesn't affect the speed. My point is that the Kursk operation was necessary and has fulfilled its function as of today. Further, everything depends on our diplomats and depends on the turn of events that will take place in the United States
- During this time, you have obviously learned to read the enemy and predict, we don't like this word, I use "read the enemy" more. Can you tell us how you see the fall, Putin's autumn campaign, what kind of campaign will it be in the Russian army?
- Offensive.
- What can we expect this fall?
- They will be on the offensive until December, until mid-December, I believe, until the United States stabilizes. Why will the enemy attack? They have the forces, they have the means, they have the tactics that the enemy will use on the battlefield, the aviation is able to fly in any season, give or take, the infantry is able to perform combat missions on offensive operations in any weather. They are mostly assaulting with manpower now. Lightly armored, armored vehicles are not often used. Two-wheeled motorcycles can drive both on dry roads and, accordingly, on crossroads. There are no problems with them either. It is critically important for the enemy, particularly in the Donetsk region, to advance as much as possible and gain a foothold by mid-December, until the further vector from our strategic partners is clear, how we are moving in the war.
- What difficulties do you see our army facing this fall? What will be lacking, what will be missing?
- Russia is superior to us in terms of numbers, weapons, the ability to exert firepower on a position, the ability to use aviation, and anti-aircraft weapons. With the help of UAVs, we are now stepping at the enemy's heels. The main threat is that the enemy can maintain a steady dynamic of high-intensity combat operations and creeping offensive operations for a long time. In order to deprive him of this opportunity, it is necessary to hit the territory of the Russian Federation with high-precision weapons. The less they have the ability to secure the front line, the less they have the ability to prove assault operations, and the less they have the ability to prove assault operations, the more we have the ability to defend and attack.
- You raised money for artificial intelligence drones. Do they work? Can you tell us how they work?
- As simple as possible. There are two parts to artificial intelligence drones. I'll try to explain it as primitively as possible. The enemy knows about this, so we are talking freely.
- By the way, do they have them?
- They are working on it, but the enemy is not an idiot. I don't know who came up with the idea that they are idiots. We will talk about this after the victory. This is the third time I've said this. The way the offensive operation was planned, the conduct of the "SMO" - there are no questions. We are just at the level where we are, the state, and we can talk to you, this is an exceptional feat of the Ukrainian nation. The enemy did not expect it, they did not have such intelligence. Everything else, they just... I can't say that the enemy is an idiot. The enemy may not have that spark of intelligence to produce certain means. They are very carefully watching what we are doing, and they are looking at tactics, applications, and so on. But the enemy is not stupid, he is developing and improving. What happened to the officers? At first, they officers, the company and battalion commander level, went into battle as much as possible, according to the regulations, as it should be. As a result, there was a high intensity of loss of this personnel potential. Then the enemy says, "Well, we can't do anything, what can we do? Let's not send battalion commanders and company commanders to go with the assault groups. Because assault groups are expendable for Russia. What have they come up with, what have they come up with? That they were bringing in new people to the unit, that they provided conditional security to the unit commanders. And they killed one company and were like, yeah, it doesn't work like that, next one. Chick, the next one was killed, oh, with a better result. And the company commander, the battalion commander, they gain experience by killing a number of people. Well, this is an absolutely normal phenomenon for Russia. And because of this, the Russians have become objectively better at fighting. Because they already have knowledgeable people who understand what kind of counteraction the Defense Forces will offer. Therefore, the enemy is developing at all levels. Getting back to your question specifically. There are two parts. There is the automatic targeting of the machine, they call it "machine vision". The drone flies, it is affected by everything here, our electronic warfare, the enemy's, and so on. It's very difficult for it, but it makes its way through the thorns to the stars, detects the target, which is there, let's say it's a Grad multiple rocket launcher system. It can be either an FPV drone or a strike UAV. It detects it, starts to make run over it. This is where the problems with radio range come into play, and the portable EW will most likely be on this machine. When approaching, a large percentage of the time the video is lost or the connection is lost and the drone does not hit the target. Automatic guidance allows the operator to see the target from a certain height on the screen and the target is automatically captured. Then, after this command is given, the drone flies without the pilot's participation, meaning that it does not care about EW, it can only be shot down with small arms. This is what is called automatic guidance or machine vision. And these technologies are very actively used by the Defense Forces, in particular by our battalion. What is artificial intelligence? Everyone has heard of the "swarm of drones". Now we are thinking, if we have to use a "swarm of drones," how can we do it? Each drone we send to a particular square flies independently of the operator. It is given a program, it flies to this square. When it arrives at the square, it has to look around it, figure out what's on the ground, and deliver fire on the target that is programmed - a tank, an IFV, a car - it doesn't matter. And now the question arises: first, how should he get into that square, with such opposition from electronic warfare, so that it does not lose his orientation of where it is. And the second question is, when it gets into that square, how does it make sure that they recognize targets well and that this whole swarm of drones does not destroy one long-burned tank? I'll explain in a very primitive way, but it should be clear.
- I see, I see.
- Therefore, it is much more difficult to work on this. But there are already setups in our country that have been tested in the rear and are now being used very actively by a certain unit at the front. Soon, I think, in a couple of years, you will be able to sit in a restaurant and drone like this: boom.
- Really?
- It will be easier to understand because that's how they show it on social media. But it's very likely that it will be a huge threat.
- Is it expensive?
- No, it's not critically expensive. Automatic targeting costs 100-150 dollars per unit of equipment. The artificial intelligence setup itself will be an expensive solution, it's about millions of dollars. But then in practical application, as a consumable, it will not be so expensive.
- We will leave the link below the interview. If you are interested in what Yurii has to say, dear friends, this is a really cool technology, so please donate money and leave some comments below this interview to appreciate Yurii's work and to wish him inspiration and all the best to the team. I also want to ask you about your personal life, Yurii. Have you changed a lot during this war?
- I understand that in order to survive in Ukraine, although life, too, I understand that it can end any day, and we will talk about this separately. We have to find the strength and ability to say "we'll talk after the war," to what hurts our souls, to say "damn you forever, and if there is no human judgment, there will be God's judgment, or if there is no God, whoever is an atheist, it will come back with a vengeance, for hands washed in blood to the elbows." And we set only one requirement for ourselves. What I, Yurii Fedorenko, and the team have done today and what we will do tomorrow to ensure that Ukraine survives and our families stay alive to defeat the enemy-occupier. Next. We live in an atmosphere where people constantly want to kill us. Unfortunately, most of the guys who have been fighting for 2.5 years have a very low level of self-preservation and nothing can be done about it. The idea that you can be killed every second, you either have to master it or it will drive you crazy. I overcame it like this: I am happy that we have already done a lot to make the state of Ukraine happen as of today. I understand the prospect that we can do so much more in the future. And I am actively working to ensure that a number of servicemen who work in the team, in the event of my death, could replace me, as everyone should do, could replace me and continue the common cause. Thus, I am not afraid to die, and I thank God for every day when I can open my eyes and say I am alive. Even if this day starts with a cold basement with rats, mice, after the GAB shelling in a complete fog of dust. I am alive, and it is a drive. That is why my motivation will remain unchanged for many more years. I try not to let all the pain and incompetence in some matters pass through me. And this is the answer, by the way, to the question about politics. I spoke for the political force that I am a part of in the subdivision. I respect it, I don't shy away from naming them, but I think it's inappropriate now. My unit includes a deputy battalion commander and a deputy of the Kyiv City Council from another political party, who are not in much contact with each other, but we have been fighting side by side since the first day of the full-scale war. I appreciate it. I am proud. My deputy commander of the first company is a deputy of the Vinnytsia City Council from a third political force. And within the unit, everyone has different visions. Someone supports the previous president, someone supports the current one, someone supports other political preferences. I forbade it to the extent possible, and this was my request to my military personnel. We don't discuss politics, we don't talk about political topics. There is a blue and yellow flag under which we fight and for which we fight. And there is a common result that we have to reach. We will reach this result and then tell each other everything we thought.
I have two words about the "dry law". I fight for everyone who deserves to receive state and departmental awards, even those who say that awards are not important to them. It's still an award, and it's designed to show a soldier that he or she did everything right and is seen and appreciated. Accordingly, I am fighting for my military. My management team, with the exception of a few people, are all order bearers. And look, each of them should have an order plus one more. Because these are guys who have gone from the trenches to important leadership positions. Also, many sergeants became officers. And there were many, many interesting events that took place that required some kind of celebration. We agreed with each other: we won the war and we would celebrate for a week.
- Really? Are you going to invite us?
- For sure.
Thank you very much. I wish you a strong Cossack as you say, and I hope for a couple more interviews. They will be about politics, and about something else. But later, it's not time yet.
