Sergey Vladimirovich Dronov (Russian: Сергей Владимирович Дронов; born on 11 August 1962), is a Ukrainian-born Russian military leader who is the Commander of the Air Force - Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation since 2019. He was the deputy commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces from 2015 to 2019, and is a colonel general as of 2023.
Sergey Dronov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | Сергей Владимирович Дронов |
| Birth name | Sergey Vladimirovich Dronov |
| Born | 11 August 1962 Almazivka, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union Russia |
| Years of service | 1983–present |
| Rank | Colonel General |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Order of the Red Star Order of Zhukov Medal For Impeccable Service Order of Courage Order of Military Merit Medal "For the Return of Crimea" Medal "Chief Marshal of Aviation Kutakhov" Honoured Military Pilot of the Russian Federation |
Due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he is under international sanctions from the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, and a number of other countries.
Biography
editSergey Dronov was born on 11 August 1962 in the village of Almazivka, Rovenkovsky district, Voroshilovhrad Oblast, Ukrainian SSR.[1]
In September 1981, Dronov, as a second-year cadet of the Yeisk Higher Military Aviation School named after V. N. Komarov, as part of a pair of L-29 training aircraft, practiced piloting techniques near the city of Bataysk, Rostov Region.[2] His plane L-29 was at an altitude of 1200 meters when a bird got into the air intake of the plane. The result of the hit was the stop of a single engine. Having contacted the flight director by radio, he reported on what had happened. From the ground followed by a command to apply a counter launch. After a number of attempts to restart, the engine did not start. The option of ejection of the pilot was excluded, due to the location of the aircraft over the residential area of the city of Bataysk, the fall of the aircraft would inevitably lead to human casualties on the ground. Having assessed the situation, he decided to land the plane with the landing gear retracted on a mowed field outside the city. He requested permission from the flight director and began a systematic descent. Landing on the field was quite smooth, the overload was 1.2 g. With the landing gear retracted, the plane landed safely on its belly, plowing several tens of meters along the ground. As Dronov later recalled about the incident, “The history of aviation knows cases when, in similar situations, even experienced pilots could not land the aircraft and died.”[citation needed] In March 1982, by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Dronov was awarded the Order of the Red Star for his courage and heroism. It was a rare case of awarding a major medal to a cadet.
Since 30 September 2015, he has been leading the aviation group of the Russian Aerospace Forces in Syria.[3] From 26 September to 22 November 2017, he served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces ex officio.
Sanctions
editOn 22 February 2022, against the backdrop of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Dronov was included in the EU sanctions list, as he is "responsible for air operations in Ukraine. Therefore, he is responsible for actively supporting and implementing actions and policies that undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine.”[4]
On 14 March 2022 included in Canada's sanctions list, dubbing him for the "comrades in the regime" for "facilitating and supporting the choice of President Putin to invade a peaceful and sovereign country.".[5] On March 15, 2022, he was sanctioned by the UK for participating in the deployment of Russian forces involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[6]
For similar reasons, he is included in the sanctions lists of Switzerland, Australia, and Japan, Ukraine,[7] and New Zealand.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Сергей Владимирович Дронов / (Сайт Министерства обороны РФ)". Archived from the original on 2022-02-13. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
- ^ "Генерал-лейтенант С. Дронов — вынужденная посадка выпускника ЕВВАУЛ / (ИА "Приазовские степи")". Archived from the original on 2019-05-19. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
- ^ "Главный по Хмеймиму: неизвестная биография генерал-лейтенанта Дронова". 2016-02-18.
- ^ Official Journal of the European Union L 042I (2022). "Council Regulation (EU) 2022/259". ISSN 1977-0677.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Global Affairs Canada (2022-02-04). "Sanctions – Russian invasion of Ukraine". GAC. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ "The UK Sanctions List". gov.uk. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
- ^ "ДРОНОВ Сергей Владимирович - биография, досье, активы | Война и санкции". sanctions.nazk.gov.ua (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ "Sergei Vladimirovich Dronov". Opensanction. 11 August 1962. Retrieved 2023-04-16.