Ukraine commander seeks improved use of interceptor drones

(Reuters) -Ukraine wants to see improved performance by interceptor drones to counter Russian aerial attacks more effectively, the country's top commander said on Thursday.

Ukraine's military has looked to interceptor drones in recent months as the most effective means of dealing with increasingly intense Russian drone assaults. The military also sees interceptors as cheaper and less wasteful than using more traditional means, such as air defence missile systems.

Top Ukrainian military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, writing on social media, said a meeting of senior officials on Thursday devoted to aid defences sought ways of building more effective systems against incoming drones.

"We are creating a layered system to counteract enemy Shahed and Geran drones," he wrote, referring to the most commonly used Russian drones.

"Our shared task is to train more crews, more interceptor operators, and provide them with more effective weapons and radars ... Following the meeting, tasks were set to eliminate shortcomings and strengthen work on interceptor drones."

Participants, he said, heard reports about the effectiveness of interceptors and the prospects of supplying greater numbers.

"Air defence is a priority for the country and for the armed forces and for me personally as commander in chief," Syrskyi wrote. 

"Safety in the Ukrainian rear depends on the results obtained from our 'anti-Shahed' system, on the reliability of our anti-missile defence."

Despite discussions of organising peace talks to end more than 3-1/2 years of conflict with Moscow, Russia has been deploying large numbers of drones and other weapons in aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine's air force on Wednesday said it had downed 430 of 502 drones and 21 of 24 missiles launched by Russia overnight. On at least one occasion in July, Russian forces launched at least 700 drones overnight on Ukrainian targets.

(Reporting by Ron PopeskiEditing by Rod Nickel)