As part of the president's task, the Air Force will be strengthened in Ukraine and a separate vertical will be created in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, which will be focused on the development of aviation.
This is stated in a statement from the press service of the Ministry of Defense.
As noted, the goal is to increase the efficiency of using existing platforms and master new technologies that will give Ukraine an advantage in the sky.
"We already have F-16s, which have proven their effectiveness, as well as French Mirages. This is just the beginning, and we will develop this direction further," the department said in a statement.
The Head of the Ministry of Defense, by order, in agreement with the President, appointed:
- Major General Oleksiy Marchenko – to the position of Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Brigadier General Serhiy Golubtsov – Deputy Commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine;
- Colonel Oleksandr Dyakiv – Commander of Aviation - Deputy Commander of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The head of the department also submitted a proposal to the government to appoint Oleksandr Kozenko as Deputy Minister of Defense for Aviation. He worked as an advisor to the head of the Ministry of Defense for a long time, in particular, he dealt with the adaptation of the F-16 and Mirage in Ukraine. Now his task is to expand these developments to the entire military aviation system.
Major General Oleksiy Marchenko has over 30 years of service in aviation, was the first deputy commander, and later the commander of the West Air Command. He headed the Specialized Center for Aviation Combat Training, worked in the structures of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Enterprise for Air Traffic Services of Ukraine.
Brigadier General Sergey Golubtsov is one of the most experienced officers in the Air Force. He began his service in fighter aviation, commanded a squadron and a brigade, was deputy commander of the Air Command “Center” and “West”. He was a member of the leadership of the Air Force Command.
Colonel Oleksandr Dyakiv has almost 30 years of military experience, headed the faculty of retraining and advanced training of aviation personnel, and is currently the Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of Aviation of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As is known, the Netherlands promised Ukraine 24 aircraft. The first batch was transferred last October. And on January 31, the head of the Ministry of Defense Rustem Umerov announced the transfer of the next batch of F-16 fighter aircraft from the Netherlands to Ukraine during 2025.
Recall that Ukraine also received the first Mirage 2000 fighters from France . Probably, in total, our state will have six aircraft.