Scandal with the Appointment of the Chief of the Drone Forces Staff. General Staff Responded.

Captain First Rank Roman Gladky has been appointed as the Chief of the Drone Forces Staff. Information spread in the media that the military officer's wife allegedly has a Russian passport, and his daughter participated in sports competitions in Sevastopol under the flag of the Russian Federation. Following this, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine commented on Gladky's appointment.

Captain First Rank Roman Gladky is an officer with many years of experience in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and has the appropriate military education. In 2020-2023, he held positions as Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Joint Forces Command and Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He underwent specialized training in Canada and, with the onset of large-scale aggression, carried out tasks in various important areas," said the military command's statement.

The General Staff noted that the Drone Forces, as a new separate branch of the military, are currently being formed and developed.

This process requires understanding, patience, and sometimes silence. We urge citizens and the mass media to verify the authenticity of any information before disseminating it.

Our units continue to carry out tasks to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, operating in coordination with other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine both on the territory of our state and behind enemy lines. The public part of our work you have already seen at airfields, warehouses, and some enemy bases," the statement said.

What is known about Roman Gladky

Nothing is known about Roman Gladky's experience with drone systems. Since July 2016, Gladky has held the position of Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In 2018, the then-Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak suspended Gladky from this position pending an internal investigation. Even then, the media wrote that this could allegedly be related to both financial and economic violations and information about the Russian citizenship of Roman Gladky's wife, Elena.

In particular, the publication "Dumska" reported that the first two years after the start of the war, Gladky's wife allegedly continued to live with their children in temporarily occupied Crimea, and the Ukrainian officer's daughter was engaged in swimming and successfully participated in competitions for the Central Sports Club of the Russian Army.

However, in 2018, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine denied that this could have been the basis for an internal investigation regarding Gladky. Instead, the main reason at the Time was called "improper performance of official duties." "The assumptions of some media about other reasons for the suspension are not true," the Ministry of Defense added.

Let us remind you that in June 2024, Colonel Vadym Sukharevsky was appointed as the Commander of the Drone Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Colonel Sukharevsky has been involved in the Russian-Ukrainian war since 2014. He fought his first battle near Semenivka in the Donetsk region on May 13, and was the first to order to fire at the militants.

Prior to this, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky approved the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated June 25, 2024, "On the creation of the Drone Forces in the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a separate branch of forces."