Air Force promises not to transfer specialists who are difficult to replace to other military branches
Pravda Ukraine
The Air Force Command has indicated that highly specialised personnel, such as aircraft engineers, will not be transferred to other branches or groups within the Armed Forces. This also applies to people who have studied overseas to learn Western technology, as well as soldiers from mobile fire groups.
Source: statement of the Ukrainian Air Force Command, pilots Karaya and Smereka
Quote: “Given the media outcry over the transfer of aviation engineering specialists to units of other branches of the Armed Forces, I officially inform you that such transfers will not be carried out! This also applies to other specialities in short supply in the Air Force.
We are also not talking about the transfer of people who have studied abroad as Western-style anti-aircraft missile troops, trained soldiers from mobile fire groups, and other highly specialised specialists, who are objectively difficult to replace.”
Details: At the same time, the Armed Forces command said that the situation at the front “requires difficult decisions from the top military leadership“.
Quote: “In particular, this applies to the transfer of Air Force personnel to units of other branches and types of the Armed Forces. The Air Force has been strengthening its combat sworn brothers on the front line for several years now, primarily the units that are being trained on the basis of the Consolidated Air Force Rifle Brigade and are fighting in the hottest areas of the front line.
In addition, in accordance with the decisions taken, the Air Force is gradually transferring a certain number of personnel to ground units to strengthen the brigades on the front line. However, this will not apply to the scarce specialities and specialists involved in combat aviation missions,” the Air Force said.
Details: Ukrainian pilots Ivan Smerechanskyi (Smereka) and Vadym Voroshylov (Karaya) also spoke about the importance of engineering and technical personnel on their social media pages. “To be pragmatic in this situation, if we give away highly qualified engineering and technical specialists, we simply will not be able to find a replacement for them, because civilians with the relevant military speciality are almost impossible to find, and the training path is quite long. As a result, this will lead to problems with the maintenance and servicing of aircraft – as a result, we will have a decrease in the combat capability of aviation brigades,” Voroshylov wrote.
Quote: “It takes at least 3 years to train an aircraft technician or any specialist in servicing an engine or an aircraft bombsight (in wartime)… And the engineering and technical staff plays a big role here. They are no less important than pilots! Pilot and engineering and technical staff are inseparable,” wrote pilot Smerechanskyi.
Background:
- Since 2024, combat brigades of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been replenished with soldiers transferred from Ukraine’s Air Force units. This has continued into 2025. The latest order from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi on the transfer of personnel was received by the Air Force units on 11 January. A Ukrainska Pravda source noted that more than 5,000 soldiers were to be transferred to the Ground Forces.
- The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has officially stated that “there have been no plans to transfer highly deficient specialists of the Air Force engineering and aviation service who maintain aircraft to infantry units”.
- At the same time, they stated that “certain categories of personnel of the Air Force, as well as other branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, after preliminary training in training centres, are reinforcing the Ground Forces, Air Assault Forces, etc”.
Support UP or become our patron!