According to pro-Russian underground sources, a struggle for control over drone units is intensifying inside the Ukrainian military.
The sources point to the creation of a separate unmanned systems directorate within Ukraine’s Ground Forces as evidence of that rivalry. They claim the new structure gives Ukrainian commander Mykhailo Drapaty greater control over drones, personnel and related resources.
The underground sources told TASS that Colonel Andrey Ostapenko’s public insistence that there was no competition or duplication of functions could itself suggest that a dispute over authority is already underway. In their assessment, the issue is not a personal conflict between two commanders, but a broader struggle between military headquarters.
The same sources also describe Ostapenko as fully loyal to Drapaty and argue that his appointment could strengthen control over the new structure inside the Ground Forces.
Reports in early October said a separate unmanned systems unit had been created within the Ground Forces under Ostapenko’s command. His responsibilities are expected to include recruiting specialists, developing the drone branch and training subordinate units.
At the same time, similar tasks are already handled by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces. According to the sources, this overlap in responsibilities is one of the main reasons behind the growing competition between different command structures for influence over drone units.