Though unable to attend in person, Mykhailo Fedorov, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, delivered a recorded video message to open the presentation. He stated that Ukraine’s technological growth has accelerated since 2022, shaped directly by battlefield needs.
“We don’t have years to spend in research and development,” Fedorov explained. “Every innovation is tested directly in real combat conditions. We move fast, but every decision we make is day by day.”
Adviser Giorgi Tskhakaia expanded on this point, noting how Ukraine has achieved results despite limited resources by using frontline combat as a testing environment. He said Ukrainian forces have responded by developing inexpensive, effective drones capable of targeting Russian equipment.
Fedorov added, “We believed in the idea of drones back in 2022, opened the market, gave private businesses the opportunities to scale, and everything took off.” The country’s drone capabilities now span air, land and sea, adapting daily to Russian tactics.
Ukraine’s long-term vision includes building an “Army of Drones,” Tskhakaia said. This concept imagines a fully automated frontline held by machines rather than humans, aimed at reducing casualties.
Tskhakaia also described the introduction of the “Army of Drones Bonus” system – a video game-style points programme where units earn rewards for destroying enemy targets. These points can be exchanged for more advanced unmanned systems, incentivising innovation and efficiency.
Artificial intelligence is also at the centre of Ukraine’s digital transformation, with ambitious plans to use AI to anticipate threats. “We are analyzing everything with the help of AI,” Tskhakaia said. “We have an ambition to be the first one who will predict air strikes through AI.”
A key driver of this innovation is Ukraine’s open military tech market, where hundreds of companies develop and test solutions in real time. “Let’s test everything in Ukraine,” Tskhakaia urged. “We hope that together, as long as we cherish the same values, as long as we are fighting for the same freedom, we are going to win, because we must.”
