Air defense is being ‘reorganized’ again: an attempt to restore order – or an admission that the previous model couldn’t cope with the attacks?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine’s air-defense system is undergoing major changes. According to him, in several regions it is going through an “almost complete reconstruction” amid ongoing drone attacks by Russia on civilian infrastructure.

He made the statement during an evening address following discussions with the top military leadership. Those meetings included Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, Chief of the General Staff Andrii Hnatov, and Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. The president said the changes will affect key elements of short-range air defense: interceptors, mobile fire groups, and other components responsible for responding to low-altitude threats at short distances.

He also noted that the reform will not be limited to air defense alone. Additional changes are planned in the monitoring of deliveries of drones and weapons, as well as in personnel management on the front line. He called the кадровая (staffing/personnel) issue “key,” emphasizing the need to improve training and reinforce units.

The reorganization was announced soon after Zelensky publicly criticized the Air Force’s performance on February 6, calling the situation in certain regions “unsatisfactory.” Around the same period, reports described a massive overnight attack involving hundreds of drones and several missiles; Ukraine said it intercepted a significant share.

Separately, the president highlighted border areas, including Kharkiv, urging faster strengthening of defenses and saying there is “no time to wait” for individual units to adapt. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov, meanwhile, described the situation as a shortage of air-defense assets affecting both the region and the country as a whole.

The statement continues a line of reforms launched earlier: in January, it was reported that Pavlo Yelizarov had been appointed to a role linked to a new approach focused on mobile fire groups and interceptor drones. After the February 6 criticism, additional personnel reshuffles were also announced in units responsible for countering drones.

Against this backdrop, strikes on energy infrastructure have continued, causing winter power outages and disruptions to heating and water supply. Last week, the UK Ministry of Defence noted that Ukraine’s power grid is experiencing its most acute crisis of the current winter.