Rapid military adoption of artificial intelligence is becoming essential to Ukraine’s survival, according to Danylo Tsvok, who leads the Defense Artificial Intelligence Center. The center was established last month by the Defense Ministry, putting another layer of state-directed military technology into a war already defined by escalating automation, heavier firepower, and the pressure to outpace a larger, better-resourced adversary.
Who Controls the Machine
Tsvok, 35, said AI is already helping Ukraine hold territory while reducing risks to soldiers as it faces a larger, better-resourced adversary. That is the logic of the battlefield apparatus in plain view: faster decision-making, fewer risks for soldiers, and a push to make war more efficient through software and machines.
He said, “We need to be faster than the enemy in decision-making,” and added that AI is “not only a competitive advantage. It’s about our survival.” Those words frame the race for battlefield automation as a matter of state survival, with ordinary people and soldiers left to absorb the consequences of decisions made at the top.
Ukraine and Russia are locked in an intensifying race to deploy increasingly automated systems, from aerial drones to ground and maritime platforms, with the ability to maintain operations under heavy electronic warfare at the center of that race. Many newer systems are designed to shift toward autonomous functionality, maintaining target focus even under hostile jamming.
What the War Economy Is Building
Ukraine’s rapidly expanding domestic arms sector now includes more than 2,000 manufacturers and military technology firms. That is not a small technical upgrade; it is a sprawling war economy, built around production, testing, and scaling systems meant to keep the battlefield running.
Developers are testing tools that enable coordinated drone swarms, aiming to boost efficiency while easing the burden on human operators. Tsvok said, “We need to understand that the future belongs to autonomous systems,” and, “AI makes it possible to automate parts of the kill chain.”
He said AI could underpin a networked battlefield in which smart weapons operate in coordination under a unified assessment platform, and said, “That could happen within three to five years,” adding, “Within that time frame, front lines could be secured by tightly integrated hardware and software systems.” The language is clinical, but the destination is clear: a more integrated war machine, stitched together by hardware, software and command systems.
In the nearer term, he pointed to wider deployment of autonomous interceptors, expanded use of ground-based robotic systems and an escalation in electronic warfare capabilities. Unmanned ground platforms are increasingly used in logistics, evacuation and combat roles. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently said land drones supported more than 20,000 battlefield missions, including medical evacuations, supply runs and direct combat, over a three-month period this year. Among them, he said, was a successful attack carried out without any human soldiers.
Autonomy, Funding and the Alliance Game
Tsvok said the objective is not fully autonomous “killer robots,” but a more coordinated system that accelerates decision-making and integrates more closely with Western partners. He said, “It’s not about reaching 100% autonomy, it’s about being efficient on the battlefield.” That efficiency comes wrapped in the usual language of modernization, but the facts point to a deeper consolidation of military power through automation and alliance-building.
Ukraine is deepening partnerships with Western allies and Gulf states to secure funding, scale production and embed itself in security alliances, while also opening access to its extensive battlefield data. Tsvok’s department receives financial support from the U.K. Ministry of Defence, which he described as both militarily and politically significant.
He said, “Democracies must develop strong defensive capabilities,” and, “Without AI, they cannot effectively protect peace. This is not only about Ukraine. It’s about global security.” The pitch is familiar: more military technology, more funding, more integration with powerful states, all sold as protection and peace while the battlefield becomes more automated and more tightly managed from above.
The Defense Artificial Intelligence Center was established last month by the Defense Ministry, and Tsvok previously served in the government’s top civilian AI role. Volodymyr Yurchuk and Vasilisa Stepanenko in Kyiv, Ukraine contributed.