ByREUTERS

JUNE 14, 2026 12:02

Combat operations in Ukraine and elsewhere are poised for a fundamental change in the years ahead as artificial intelligence platforms merge into coordinated networks that accelerate choices during engagements, according to a top Ukrainian official.

Now in the fifth year of resisting a full-scale Russian assault, Ukraine already applies AI across numerous combat roles, including guiding drones toward objectives, supporting operational planning and processing information on incoming Russian missile strikes.

"AI will create a fresh model for conducting war. It is already doing so in practice," Danylo Tsvok, who leads the defense ministry's AI center, told Reuters.

He forecast that AI platforms will merge into one unified network managing the entire battlefield, resulting in a contest of operating systems with Russia over the coming three to five years should the fighting persist.

"The platform that holds greater volumes of data and interprets it more effectively, while offering recommendations, will secure superiority," he stated.

The center opened in March as part of Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov's effort to place AI and analytics at the core of Ukraine's protective measures.

Unmanned aerial systems, still largely controlled by operators, have already transformed battlefield tactics.

Ukrainian and Russian forces deploy thousands of UAVs daily against one another. Kyiv is also exploring ground-based robots to address shortages of frontline personnel.

Because drones provide continuous observation and deliver precise strikes, they have shortened the kill chain, the sequence from planning to executing attacks. AI-supported choices would compress this timeline further, Tsvok noted.

Technological arms race

With roughly one million service members, Ukraine already incorporates AI instruments into its command frameworks.

Tsvok explained that the objective is a single operating system capable of suggesting decisions from small frontline teams up to the highest strategic levels.

Such integration would greatly accelerate evaluation of information collected along the 1,200-kilometer front, enabling faster guidance for human leaders, he added.

The intent, according to Tsvok, is to combine armaments and information tools into one cohesive entity that functions in harmony.

The technology competition sparked by Europe's largest conflict since the 1939-1945 war has drawn attention from international AI firms seeking real combat data for model training and chances to validate their platforms.

Companies including the U.S. firm Palantir have supplied systems to Ukraine. Kyiv established the Brave1 Dataroom initiative to share frontline information with partner nations for refining their software.

"This environment allows testing of whether a given system performs," Tsvok remarked while dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans.

Russia is likewise advancing its AI capabilities. A senior Ukrainian air defense officer expressed concern to Reuters in April over Moscow's growing reliance on AI for orchestrating drone and missile strikes against urban areas, which could sharply cut preparation time for each attack.

"The issue," Tsvok observed, "is how rapidly we develop our own tools, how effectively we deploy them and how well we deliver battlefield results from our perspective."

He noted that the defense ministry is building an AI-supported recruitment and personnel system as part of Fedorov's drive for data-informed modernization of the large department.

Ukraine maintains a human-in-the-loop standard for combat choices, yet Tsvok indicated that AI platforms may eventually surpass human speed, making continued human oversight a potential drag on responsiveness.

"This raises the question of how we maintain pace with decisions suggested by autonomous systems," he concluded.