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Zelenskyy Appoints Pavlo Yelizarov as Air Force Deputy to Lead New Sky Defense Tactics
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy approved the appointment of Pavlo Yelizarov as a new deputy commander of Ukraine’s Air Force on January 19, according to his statement on January 19.
Zelenskyy stated that Yelizarov is known in the military by the call sign “Lazar” and commands a special unit referred to as “Lasar’s group,” which he described as effective.
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Zelenskyy linked the appointment to a broader shift in how the Air Force will apply air defense, saying Ukraine would introduce a new approach focused on what he called “small” air defense.
He said this component includes mobile fire groups, interceptor drones, and other tools used to protect the sky, and that the system would be transformed.
Zelenskyy said the transformation would be developed jointly with Ukraine’s defense minister and the military command, and would include designing a new organization for this specific air defense component.
He added that the goal was to reshape how these short-range and mobile elements are coordinated and employed under Air Force command as part of Ukraine’s broader effort to strengthen protection of its airspace.
Earlier, it was reported that Lasar’s Group—commanded by Pavlo “Lasar” Yelizarov—destroyed a Russian Buk-M1 surface-to-air missile launcher using a drone strike documented on video.
