{"id":1246248,"date":"2025-06-16T12:06:07","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T09:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/steel-kumpol-how-ukrainian-civilians-will-help-create-a-peoples-air-defense\/"},"modified":"2025-06-17T04:21:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T01:21:40","slug":"steel-kumpol-how-ukrainian-civilians-will-help-create-a-peoples-air-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prm.ua\/en\/steel-kumpol-how-ukrainian-civilians-will-help-create-a-peoples-air-defense\/","title":{"rendered":"Steel Kumpol: How Ukrainian Civilians Are Powering a \u201cPeople\u2019s Iron Dome\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: Author’s Facebook<\/a> page<\/em>
\nWell, my kitties and bunnies, shall we move on? At last, we\u2014those in the rear\u2014have found a mission in this long war that is not only useful but also energizing and even fun.<\/strong><\/p>\n

We were already part of the “mud” in which, according to Trump, Putin\u2019s invincible tanks got stuck \u2014 and now we need to become our own Ukrainian Iron Dome.
\nSeriously, massive drone strikes against enemy lines are playing an increasingly important role in our war of survival and attrition.<\/p>\n

Both sides are heavily relying on this tactic, almost as their primary strategy, and their chosen approaches to deep strikes are in stark contrast \u2014 although both were developed and tested back in World War II…
\nUkraine took as its basis the approach practiced by Britain and the United States in 1942-43: to carefully study the enemy’s military-industrial complex, while focusing attention not on the final assembly enterprises, but on those links in the production chain that are unique or at least not duplicated much, produce critically important components, and the failure of which stops the entire supply chain for the production of a particular type of weapon.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0 call this approach “bearing”, because at one point the bombing of just one (!) German bearing factory reduced the output of all military equipment of the Reich (from automobiles to aircraft) by a third – after all, it “suddenly turned out” that bearings were used in all equipment without exception, and only two factories produced them in the country. Our equivalent of that Nazi-bearing factory may well be, for example, the recently targeted and likely sole manufacturer of the \u201cKometa\u201d navigation system. in the entire Russian Reich, which is used in all subsonic long-range weapons, from cruise missiles to “Shaheeds”.<\/p>\n\n

Meanwhile, the Russian Reich is enthusiastically cosplaying the Nazis with its strategy of \u201cturning enemy cities into nightmares.\u201d The current Shahed raids on Kyiv are virtually identical to the V-1 and V-2 missile attacks on London \u2014 both in terms of intensity and the notorious \u201caccuracy\u201d of the strikes.<\/p>\n

The underlying goal is the same: unable to defeat the enemy\u2019s army directly, they attempt to terrorize the civilian population so that, in a democratic society, it becomes the weak link and begins demanding \u201cpeace at any cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s somewhat ironic that the Rashists, with their obsession for historical reenactments and their cult of World War II, seem unable to distinguish which of the two deep strike strategies led to victory and which ended at Nuremberg.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s their problem. Let the psychiatrists sort it out later \u2014 we have our task: namely, to repel the Shahed invasion in our skies.<\/p>\n

The scale of the Shahed raids has demanded such a massive air defense response that it is physically impossible for the Armed Forces of Ukraine to handle it alone. Deploying the military for this task is not even a rational use of resources.<\/p>\n

Our defenders already have more than enough to do: destroying enemy forces at the front and striking strategic targets in the enemy\u2019s rear. Meanwhile, we in the Ukrainian rear are perfectly capable of taking on the responsibility of protecting our cities from all kinds of \u201cKherans.\u201d<\/p>\n

The foundation of Russia\u2019s mass air attacks currently consists of Shahed\/Geran and \u201cGerber\u201d-type drones \u2014 large, relatively slow-flying aircraft that are fairly easy to shoot down at low altitudes. Accordingly, the backbone of our defense against them should consist of mobile units in jeeps and trucks equipped with anti-aircraft weapons \u2014 from large-caliber machine guns to conventional 7.62mm guns and 20\u201330mm automatic cannons.<\/p>\n

\n<\/p>\n

It\u2019s simple, effective, and cheap. The only downside is that it requires a fairly large number of personnel \u2014 distributed evenly across the vast territory of our country. And with the current (and expected to continue throughout the year) increase in the intensity of drone raids, it turns out that to counter them effectively, the number of mobile air defense groups must approach that of infantry units at the front \u2014 even though there is already a critical shortage of infantry.<\/p>\n

But there is a solution. The author of these lines proposed it last summer. I don\u2019t know whether the idea simply took time to \u201cmature\u201d and take root, or if the Ministry of Defense independently arrived at the same decision due to changing circumstances \u2014 the important thing is that it\u2019s finally happening.<\/p>\n

This week, a Cabinet resolution initiated by the Ministry of Defense was adopted, which now allows civilians like you and me \u2014 those working in the rear \u2014 to take part in defending the skies above us.<\/p>\n

The resolution permits anyone willing to become part of the \u201cIron Kumpol\u201d initiative, without any restrictions related to military mobilization or contracts with the Armed Forces of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

Men and women alike are now entitled to hunt \u201cShaheds,\u201d regardless of age \u2014 whether they are too young to serve or have already aged out of the draft.<\/p>\n

Participation is also allowed for individuals unfit for military service due to health reasons (finally \u2014 I\u2019ve been waiting for this!), as well as those on work-related leave or deferment for any reason.<\/p>\n

Personal vehicles may be used (which is logical \u2014 the state simply doesn\u2019t have enough cars for this scale of operation, and as usual, we\u2019ll just pool resources and make it happen, because that\u2019s what we do).<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also an interesting detail regarding weapons: some will be issued from military reserves, but it is also permitted to purchase your own. I haven\u2019t yet bought any anti-aircraft guns or MANPADS myself \u2014 we\u2019ll see how that works out \u2014 but the idea itself makes perfect sense.<\/p>\n

For the legal status of volunteer air defense units, the government has adopted the framework already used for Territorial Defense Volunteer Units (DFTG), which proved effective in 2022. It\u2019s a wise decision \u2014 there\u2019s no need to reinvent the wheel when an existing and functional model is available.<\/p>\n

\n“Overall, the idea carries both significant potential and serious risks.”<\/p>\n\t\t