Brigadier General and Commander of the Air Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Igor Skibyuk gave an interview to a special correspondent, international observer of the ICTV channel Vladimir Runts. He spoke about the DShV, military service and how the nature of combat operations has changed in recent years.
Help. Igor Skibyuk was born in the Kherson region, a graduate of the Odessa Institute of Ground Forces, and then the National Defense University of Ukraine.
He began his officer service in 1998 in the ranks of the 6th separate airborne brigade of the Operational Command West, which was subsequently reorganized into the 80th separate airmobile regiment and the 80th separate air assault Galician brigade. Passed all stages of a military career.
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Performed assigned tasks as part of the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingents in Kosovo and Iraq.
Participant in the Anti-Terrorist Operation and the Joint Forces Operation in the East of Ukraine. Since October 2018 — Chief of Staff — deputy commander of the 95th separate air assault brigade.
In November 2021, Igor Skibyuk became the commander of the Galician brigade of the DShV, as part of which he met the full-scale invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine.
It was under his direct leadership that the 80th separate air assault Galician brigade conducted successful military operations during the defense of the Southern direction and the city of Voznesensk, and fought fierce battles in the areas of Belogorovka, Slavyansk, Lisichansk, Sporny, Bakhmut. < /p>
For personal courage and heroism shown in defending the state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, on October 14, 2022, Igor Skibyuk was awarded the highest state award — title of Hero of Ukraine with the award of the Order of the Golden Star.
At the end of 2022, Igor Skibyuk was appointed chief of staff — Deputy Commander of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and on February 11, 2024 — Commander of the Air Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II and III degrees, awarded with personalized firearms.
Brigadier General Igor Anatolyevich Skibyuk devotes his entire life to the development and formation of the Ukrainian landing force, enhancing the heroic and glorious traditions of a separate branch of the military.
Service in the DShV
— Paratroopers have always been associated with prestige. Everyone wanted, if they served in the army, then in these troops. How do you manage to maintain this prestige today — new challenges, new times?
— We don't need to prove anything. We have already won the authority of the troops and prestige for decades to come. They showed their landing identity, made many significant contributions to the victory and the success of operations.
— Why should people go to DShV?
— We are highly professional assault troops. It won't be boring with us, you will be in the thick of things, better prepared, you will be under better and more effective command. You will be in professional and close-knit teams, where each brigade, company, battalion — how is the family. We have common sense at the forefront. We are open to experiments, in particular in DShV. We are asking for experiments conducted by the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense.
We need to work in such a way that it is convenient for military units to carry out their tasks. They won't know how competent I am until they see how caring I am. Ukrainian army — not paper, not rudimentary, this is a modern, successful army with great achievements, good traditions.
When wars end, or in some stages, they conduct research and then try to implement this experience. This war — not like that.
— You say that the main thing in your position now is that people feel cared for. How it should manifest itself?
— I feel honored when I greet and shake hands with my soldiers. In terms of care, I must, as a commander, meet the necessary resource needs of my military units, I must address the issues of training personnel and their needs. I have a requirement for myself: if any soldier applies, he must always receive an answer to his question.
— Those military personnel who go to study abroad are mostly newcomers or people with combat experience. What can they learn there?
— It happens both ways. Specialized courses are conducted for certain military professions and competencies, which are attended by experienced officers and sergeants who study specific types of weapons or certain competencies.
And there are a large number of soldiers who are just drafted and undergo basic training, receiving basic military skills there. In my opinion, training abroad is necessary. It instills certain values in these armies.
War and how the nature of hostilities changed
— There is a lot of skepticism regarding the advanced ones. Very often the words “defeat”, “despondency” appear in the media. and “decline”, “deadlock”. How right are outside voices about what is happening now in Ukraine?
— As a military professional, I have my own analysis, some kind of forecasting. But this is a rather complex war, again, there is an imbalance in strength. The support of our partners is important, the consistency of this support, the speed of this support.
— Are there resources, are there enough of them or is there some kind of shortage?
— There is a disadvantage, therefore there is a need for their most efficient distribution.
— What resources are currently lacking the most?
— Weapons of combat destruction and high-tech weapons so that we are sufficiently protected and effective on the battlefield. But we have a war plan, we have campaign plans, we have an understanding of what we are doing. In understanding what we are doing, we are superior to the enemy, superior to the effectiveness of leadership. If the number of the enemy were not so disproportionate, everything would have ended long ago. It's just that the enemy's resources are very large.
— Were the military worried about the swing in whether the US Congress would accept military aid to Ukraine?
— The result of this is important, and this whole political situation and discussion does not require deepening.
— Experts say the nature of war has changed. Would you agree with this thesis and if so, how did the parties begin to fight differently?
— Yes, it has changed in general, like the nature of the wars of a certain generation. And inside he changed several times. Technologies of various kinds are important now. I think that this war will end with certain robotic systems that will work on the battlefield. Undoubtedly, these are the capabilities of drones of various types, the capabilities of reconnaissance equipment, electronic warfare. Now there is a large electronic confrontation between reconnaissance assets, and it is sometimes more brutal than close assault combat or the struggle for artillery fire advantage.
Certain tactics and methods are completely new, which contradict what we were preparing for. When the masses decided, now, in addition to high-tech means, they decide on the success, training, and ability of the assault group fighter to fulfill his tactical mission and always have an advantage over the enemy in any conditions.
— Is it correct to say that the war has become intellectual?
— Definitely. The effectiveness of the headquarters, where, I think, we always surpass the enemy, that is, we always understand what is happening on the battlefield and have options on what to do. There is also the training and professionalism of the people who apply it and manage the operations. It happens that brute force does not solve anything.
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About yourself, people and values
– So that you would like to tell about yourself?
— I'll try to joke – Wikipedia has the wrong year of birth and I have a sense of humor.
— What is your highest value in life and work?
— Man — whole personality. What I value most in my service is professionalism, growth ability, basic military competencies, and dedication. We have such a profession that we cannot give average results, much less lower ones. We must constantly work to the maximum.
– This is life on adrenaline. How hard it is to come home and let it go?
– A sense of humor helps with this. It’s not difficult for me personally.
– Manages to separate professional and personal?
– Yes and no. When my family expresses criticism that I don’t devote enough time to them, when I was in lower positions, I said that I was saving the world, and everything was forgiven.
— You have many officers under your command, some experienced, some young who do not yet have combat experience. What would you advise them in their professional and personal life, how to combine it?
– I have a number of rules – you can always do more. They should always look for opportunities to do more and not give up. Even in the most difficult situation, there are always ways to turn it all around and stabilize it. There must be common sense. I call this my winning formula. The personnel must have confidence in the commander. And there must be trust in the task. And then everything will work out and it will be quite simple.
Friends
— Let's talk about friends – we all have them.
– If you take my average friend, this is a colonel of the Airborne Assault Forces, with whom I have known for decades. I have several such friends, I have several close sergeant friends with whom I communicate on equal terms. We do not share — general or sergeant, these are wonderful guys and people very close to me.
– The Friends of DShV project is now being launched, what can you tell us about it, what kind of project it is?
– The idea has two sides. This is, with the help of the media, to more widely present achievements, history, our brigades, individual stories of feats, individual professions, the competencies of heroic guys and girls who perform the task, and give feedback, show how important and difficult our service is, how much we do everything to the maximum to complete certain tasks. And I think that this matters for that category of loved ones who are proud, who want to see their relatives, who are looking for news about them.
Each brigade is both a fighting family and relatives and friends have communities. This is a very broad category, first of all these are families and loved ones of military personnel who think about them every day, pray, worry and all their thoughts about loved ones who serve in the assault troops perform tasks.
I want to single out as Friends of the Children's Military Movement the communities of cities and towns where our military units are based, which provide both moral and material support. We survived the first year of the war thanks to the help of these communities. Friends are their mayors, heads of administration, the very community of these cities. Friends are community volunteers, public organizations that help us with extremely important needs and tasks.
These are famous personalities who join the needs and support us. This is a very wide and important circle of people whom I, as commander, want to thank.
Rear, victory and plans after the war
– So that you tell the people in the rear how important they are to the army?
– We understand that the economy and people’s everyday life must work. We fight at the front so that it will be good in the rear, where our loved ones are. I rejoice when I see peaceful life, some manifestations, it is clear that they should not be cynical. Sometimes some provocative events appear. This is unacceptable.
– After the victory, what should Ukraine be like?
— This is a bright picture, I want everything to be honest, so that there is gratitude to the veterans of this war, so that we are modern and European. For Ukraine to be happy.
– What victory will look like for you personally?
– I frankly saw the victory during the Kharkov operation. I would like to experience these feelings again. This is when the enemy is defeated, he runs in all directions, when dozens of units of his equipment are destroyed, when dozens of units of equipment are captured, when dozens of prisoners are demoralized and want to save their skin.
This is the happiness of the people who meet you. This is when these three-colored rags are lying around and you wipe your feet on them.
— Before the start of this war, it could be said that the goal of the Ukrainian army within the country was for Ukraine to become a member of NATO. Does this goal exist now, can Ukraine achieve this?
– I think so. NATO is a community of allies, they know how to value allies. I think that Ukraine, both now and after the victory, for many political and moral reasons, should lead to a positive result. And our Armed Forces are quite professional, we are at the NATO level in many issues, and in some issues we prevail over them. I don't see any problems.
– I want us to start visualizing dreams. Let's imagine that we won, what will you do immediately after that?
– As a military commander, I will have a lot of military affairs to do. At this important stage, everything needs to be put in order. Therefore, celebrations will have to be postponed. If you visualize any human desires, it is the joy of gathering with friends, giving thanks, and rejoicing. Gather your company commanders, brew a pot of borscht, sit with them, talk, thank them.
