Drones now make up more than 95 percent of all target engagements in Ukraine. Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov shared this statistic at IT Arena 2026 in Lviv. He used the event to push for a complete shift toward full battlefield robotics.
Ukraine counts over 700 drone producers
Ukraine currently hosts more than 700 drone manufacturers. Fedorov provided this manufacturer count during his appearance. He did not specify the exact time period or operations covered by the figure. The country has served as a primary testing ground for artificial intelligence warfare and drones.
AI combat data gathered from these operations has transformed into an export product. The United Kingdom became the first buyer of this combat data. Nations continue to debate limits on autonomous weapons at the United Nations.
A new private program launches online
Fedorov is openly calling for full-scale battlefield robotization. He backed this demand with a militaristic trailer and an Army of Robots website for his private program. The project will operate through an ecosystem of private defense technology firms.
Fedorov plans to invest directly in companies and launch his own technology projects. He also intends to test working systems with the military at scale. He wrote on Telegram that robots should fight instead of people.
Uncertainty surrounds autonomous attack decisions
It remains unclear whether these proposed robots will make attack decisions on their own. Reports indicate that autonomous attack decisions are already happening with current drones. Fedorov's push also functions as psychological warfare to intimidate Russia and draw investors.
Humanoid robots featured in the promotional trailer are far from battle-ready. They may not even make tactical military sense. The leap from United Nations ban discussions to a private combat robot initiative highlights rapid shifts regarding autonomous weapons.
Aggressive video public relations in military technology is not entirely new. The Future of Life Institute released a dramatic film titled Slaughterbots nearly nine years ago to warn against autonomous combat robots.
