Kyiv, Ukraine. A senior Ukrainian military official said artificial intelligence is set to reshape warfare in Ukraine and beyond as it becomes integrated into weapons networks and speeds up battlefield decision-making. He said AI could soon underpin a unified system overseeing combat operations.
AI in battlefield operations
Ukraine, now in the fifth year of fighting a full-scale Russian invasion, is already using AI across a range of battlefield functions, according to Danylo Tsvok, head of the defence ministry’s AI research centre.
He told Reuters that AI is being used to fly drones at targets, help plan combat operations and process data on Russian missile attacks.
“AI will form a new paradigm of warfare. It’s already actively doing so,” Tsvok said.
Unified systems and battlefield competition
Tsvok said AI systems would soon be brought together into a single network overseeing the battlefield. He said this could lead to what he described as a “war of operating systems” with Russia in the next three to five years if the conflict continues.
“The system that possesses more data and better understands that data, proposes solutions — that system will gain the advantage over the other,” he said.
Defence ministry focus on AI
The AI research centre was founded in March as Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov seeks to place AI and data-driven decision-making at the centre of Ukraine’s defence strategy.
Role of drones and robotics
Drones, which are still mostly flown by pilots, have already changed how the war is being fought. Ukrainian and Russian forces launch thousands of unmanned aerial vehicles each day at one another.
Kyiv is also seeking to address a frontline troop shortage through the use of ground robots.
Faster strike planning
Tsvok said the ability of drones to continuously monitor the battlefield and strike targets with precision has accelerated the “kill chain,” the process of planning and carrying out an attack on the enemy.
He said AI-driven decision-making would accelerate that process further.
Existing use in military systems
Ukraine, whose military numbers around one million personnel, is already using AI tools in its command systems.
