Deputy Commander of the Air Force Pavlo Elizarov, who is building a small air defense system, has written a resignation letter due to the possible dismissal of Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov
Deputy Commander of the Air Force Pavlo Elizarov, who is building a small air defense system, has written a resignation letter due to the possible dismissal of Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov
Pavlo Elizarov reported this on Facebook.
"Unfortunately, in the fifth year of the war, I wrote a report on my dismissal from the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I believe that the removal of M. Fedorov is a great evil for the country's defense capability," said Pavlo Elizarov. "In the 22nd year, I joined the defense forces to win, not to engage in imitation of activities."
According to Elizarov, the release of Mykhailo Fedorov "will cause numerous victims and destruction in Ukraine as a result of the aggression of the Russian Federation."
In civilian life, Pavel Elizarov was known as the producer and co-owner of the popular political talk show "Freedom of Speech."
Upon joining the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2022, he created an innovative National Guard unit, Lasar's Group, which was almost entirely composed of former civilians—98%. This unit was the first to systematically master the use of heavy bombers via Starlink satellite communication, thereby setting a record in the Defense Forces, destroying over 2,400 enemy tanks.
Since January 2026, Elizarov has held the position of Deputy Commander of the Air Force, where he faces a large-scale task - to build a unique "small" air defense system that has no analogues in the world.
The creation of a multi-level air defense system is one of the three key goals of Mikhail Fedorov as Minister of Defense. A special role in this structure is assigned to “small air defense”, which is crucial in the fight against reconnaissance UAVs and kamikaze drones. This defense segment includes mobile fire groups, anti-aircraft machine gun and anti-aircraft gun complexes, as well as interceptor drones. The main advantage of “small air defense” is the ability to quickly scale up more economically profitable and cheaper solutions, which allows you not to depend on the scarce production rates and expensive missiles for classic anti-aircraft systems.
According to Yuri Butusov, commander of the UAV platoon of the 13th brigade of the Charter National Guard, “Elizarov doubled the number of actual interceptions of enemy UAVs in 6 months.”
