Ukraine suspends drone chief accused of having ties to Russia — RT Russia and former Soviet Union
kyiv has launched an investigation into Roman Gladky, chief of staff of the unmanned systems forces
Ukraine has suspended the chief of staff of its drone forces following reports that his family is living in Russia.
The decision was made after a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s security committee, the General Staff wrote in a statement on Telegram on Tuesday evening. It said that Ukraine’s top general, Aleksandr Syrsky, decided that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) “conduct an additional special inspection” as regards Roman Gladky, Chief of Staff of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF).
Gladky will be “suspended from official duties for the duration of the inspection”, added the general staff.
The USF was established as a separate military branch in February. Gladky, a career military officer, was named USF’s chief planning officer in August.
The investigation was launched after Ukrainian media reported that Gladky’s wife had a Russian passport and was residing in Crimea after the peninsula became part of Russia in 2014. It was also reported that Gladky’s daughter had competed in swimming competitions under the Russian flag. Kiev considers Crimea to be under illegal occupation and prohibits unauthorized visits to the peninsula.
Several prominent military bloggers criticized Gladky’s appointment, with the Deep State Project describing him as “a person who has never had anything to do with drones.” Popular blogger and activist Sergey Sternenko claimed that Gladky was appointed to “destroy the USF from within.”
The commander-in-chief’s suspension comes amid a major government reshuffle. On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky dismissed his deputy chief of staff and accepted the resignations of three ministers and two deputy prime ministers. Ukrainian media reported that Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba could also be replaced soon.
Zelensky has dismissed several senior military and political officials since the start of the armed conflict with Russia in 2022. Former top general Valery Zaluzhny lost his post earlier this year after the military leadership was heavily criticized for the failure of the summer 2023 counteroffensive.
Former Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov was also replaced in 2023. His reputation has been tarnished by corruption scandals that allegedly contributed to setbacks on the battlefield.
You can share this story on social media:
RT
