Ukraine restructures military command amid air defense crisis and NATO criticism

Ukrainian armed forces are undergoing internal command restructuring under newly appointed chief Mykhailo Drapatyi, who is reorganizing management structures following criticisms of military bureaucracy.

Concurrently, former commander-in-chief and current UK ambassador Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated in Kyiv that Ukraine will never join NATO. Zaluzhnyi argued the alliance relies on outdated "tactics from World War II" and remains ill-prepared for modern conflicts.

The developments coincide with severe air defense operational failures. Ukrainian forces failed to intercept any of the 28 Russian ballistic and anti-ship missiles fired during a recent night barrage on the Kyiv region, which killed 17 people and wounded 44. Officials attributed the failure to critical shortages of American Patriot interceptor missiles, prompting analysts to suggest targeting Russian missile launchers directly, potentially utilizing long-range strikes or adjusted satellite access.

Sources: Deník N, Ekonomický deník, Hospodářské noviny, Respect, Seznam Zprávy