Volunteer Sternenko calls for lifting the ban on interceptor drones in big cities
Volunteer Serhiy Sternenko, whose charitable foundation Sternenko Community is the largest non-governmental supplier of drones, proposes lifting the ban he says exists on the use of interceptor drones within and near major cities.
"Most of the shaheds will be intercepted far from the cities. That's how it should be. But when they break through further, we shouldn't tie our own hands," he wrote on the social network X on Saturday after another massive enemy attack on Kyiv.
According to Sternenko, the ban is due to the fact that "it's supposedly dangerous for an interceptor to fly over the city because it carries 0.5 kg of explosives."
He believes these risks are comparable to those posed by machine guns, anti-aircraft mounts, and air defense missile systems.
"Moreover, in most cases, when a Shahed is intercepted by a drone, its warhead detonates in the air, which is significantly safer for people than when a Shahed is shot down with a machine gun," the volunteer believes.
According to a report by the Sternenko Community Charitable Foundation, in November it raised the largest amount of funds of any military foundation—over UAH 330 million—and purchased 8,430 FPV drones for UAH 329.23 million, including 1,570 interceptor drones for UAH 136.82 million. A total of 243,180 drones had been purchased as of November 30.
According to the foundation, at least 302 Shaheds were shot down by drones supplied by it in November, including the first recorded downing of jet-powered Shaheds.