Appointment of controversial new chief of staff of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces sparks public outcry – photos

The announcement by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) that Captain 1st Rank Roman Hladkyi has been appointed as Chief of Staff of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) Command has been greeted with outrage on social media, even though the AFU has denied all related allegations.

Source: Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook; Ukrainska Pravda sources

Details: The news of Hladkyi's appointment emerged online and has caused a public outcry.

Ukrainian lawmaker Mariana Bezuhla has claimed that Hladkyi "not only has no experience of working with UAVs, he has also been suspected of treason, espionage and corruption. Furthermore, his wife holds Russian citizenship and his daughter has represented Russia in competitions.

It remains unclear how he got through the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) vetting process and continues to hold such high positions. He's a native of Crimea, a naval captain with a questionable reputation, and has no background in working with drones. From what I understand, the appointment of this individual as chief of staff appears to be a deliberate decision by [Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr] Syrskyi," the lawmaker added.

A little later, DeepState, a group of military analysts, reacted to Hladkyi's appointment.

"Roman Hladkyi is suspected of treason, espionage and corruption. His wife has Russian citizenship and his daughter has represented Muscovy [Russia – ed.] in sports competitions. Is there really no one in the entire Ukrainian army worthy of the post of Chief of Staff of the USF, and they need a person who has never had anything to do with drones?" DeepState said in a statement.

DeepState also posted photos of Russian medals said to have been awarded to Hladkyi's daughter for her achievements in sporting competitions.

Ukrainian servicemen have also begun writing to Ukrainska Pravda about this, expressing outrage at the appointment and describing it as "a case of mutual favours".

In 2018, Ukraine's Defence Ministry announced Roman Hladkyi's dismissal as Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Navy, citing poor performance of his official duties.

Ukrainian news outlet Dumska reported in April 2018 that Hladkyi had been suspended for the duration of an internal investigation into financial and economic irregularities, as well as because his wife, Olena, held Russian citizenship.

There is no information about Hladkyi's dismissal on the Defence Ministry website now. The only indication that the announcement previously existed is the title in the link itself.

It is, however, available in the web archive.

According to Ukrainska Pravda sources, the court register shows that Hladkyi sued Ukraine's Security Service in 2020 after his access to state secrets was revoked.

Following the barrage of criticism, the AFU has issued a statement on Facebook. It is worth noting that the statement was copied from the USF Command Facebook page, which had been created less than 24 hours earlier.

The statement describes Captain 1st Rank Roman Hladkyi as "an officer with many years of experience in the AFU who has the relevant military training and significant experience in senior positions within the AFU".

In particular, it is indicated that from 2020 to 2023, Hladkyi held the positions of Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Joint Forces Command and Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces of the AFU.

The statement also says that Hladkyi underwent specialist training in Canada, and with the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion, "carried out tasks on various fronts, including organising anti-landing defence along the coast in Odesa".

The AFU also emphasised that during 2018-2019, Hladkyi "passed all the necessary checks by the Security Service of Ukraine and holds security clearance for handling information with the highest level of secrecy".

The statement has drawn numerous outraged comments on social media, with users describing the appointment and the AFU statement as "treason", "shame" and "cronyism". They have also pointed out that the AFU leadership has failed to address concerns about the allegations of treason, the revocation of Hladkyi’s access to state secrets, his wife's Russian citizenship, and his daughter representing Russia in competitions.

Ukrainska Pravda has asked the SSU to comment on the issue of Hladkyi's access to state secrets.

Background:

• On 7 May, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers (the government) supported a presidential decree, drafted by the Defence Ministry and the General Staff, creating a separate branch of the Armed Forces – the Unmanned Systems Forces.
• On 10 June, the General Staff announced that Vadym Sukharevskyi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the AFU, had been appointed commander of the USF.

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