The Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has launched a large-scale transfer of aviation personnel and anti-aircraft specialists to infantry units.
This was reported by aviation technicians of the 114th Air Force Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Sergeant Vitaliy Horzhevsky noted that their unit received an order to transfer 218 soldiers, including almost all aviation technicians. Earlier, 250 people had already been transferred from the brigade. According to him, this effectively stops the work of the tactical aviation brigade, armed with MiG-29 fighters, due to the lack of technical personnel.
Dmytro Dontsov, senior technician of the engineering and aviation service of the Carpathian aviation squadron, told the “Galka newspaper” that the transfer concerns both technicians and management.
According to Militarnyi, this large-scale redeployment of personnel was authorized by an order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi dated January 11, 2025.
The reduction applies not only to aviation units, but also to units of anti-aircraft and radio engineering troops, including operators of anti-aircraft missile systems (SAMs) and radar systems, including those who have been trained abroad.
This is the third large-scale wave of personnel transfers. According to officers, the implementation of this order may lead to a decrease in the combat capability of some anti-aircraft missile units to a critical level – below 40%.
According to the order, the personnel will be redeployed to the Army, although the Air Force already has its own infantry brigade. This brigade, composed of aviation, anti-aircraft and radio engineering troops, has been involved in combat for over a year. Its soldiers have fought in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and are currently holding positions near Vovchansk.