One Step Away from Terminators

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Saturday, 22 August 2026, 16:45

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22 August 2026

16:45<br>Cabinet Allocates Another ₴5.14 Billion for Compensation for Housing Destroyed by Russian Attacks

16:30<br>Ukrainians Will Decide Whom to Call Their Heroes; Veterans Should Help Shape Honoring Policy

16:15<br>Ukraine Could Become a Leader in Shaping Modern Veteran Policy in the EU – Chentsov

16:15<br>Chentsov, Dutch Foreign Minister Discuss Support for Ukraine and Its EU Accession

16:05<br>photos<br>Attack on Shopping Center in Kryvyi Rih: Three People, Including a Child, Remain Missing

15:55<br>Poland to Strengthen Protection of More Than 200 Kilometers of Its Northern and Eastern Borders by Year-End

15:40<br>General Staff Releases Results of Strike on Primorsko-Akhtarsk Airfield

15:25<br>Germany Seeks to Deepen Defense Industry Cooperation with Ukraine – Wadephul

15:10<br>photo<br>Company warehouses and a residential building caught fire in Kramatorsk following enemy strikes

14:59<br>Ukraine’s Defense Forces strike fuel storage tanks at Yeysk oil terminal in Russia

14:38<br>Wadephul on peace talks: We need to be willing to take unconventional paths

14:15<br>Germany to provide additional €60 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine

13:53<br>video<br>Ukrainian forces destroy Russian Su-24M at Saki airfield – Zelensky

13:35<br>Russian ballistic strike kills two, injures eight in Kyiv region

13:18<br>Sybiha: True peace can be achieved only with Europe at negotiating table

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How Artificial Intelligence Works on the Battlefield, and Why, for Us, the &ldquo;Cyborgs&rdquo; Will Always Be the Defenders of Donetsk Airport

Recently, at a press conference at Ukrinform, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Brigadier General Andrii Lebedenko compared the military innovation system to a continuous conveyor belt: combat units identify a problem, military analysts formulate the technical requirements, and developers create solutions that, after successful testing, are immediately sent to the front.

In the first half of 2026 alone, the Armed Forces of Ukraine conducted 433 tests of new weapons and military equipment and evaluated nearly 600 innovative projects, more than 40 of which received state funding.

These figures are no longer about isolated technological experiments. War is increasingly entrusting machines with tasks that were previously performed by humans. And it is not just about drones and ground robotic systems. Artificial intelligence is gradually being used in reconnaissance, air defense, command and control, navigation, and logistics.

How far has this process already gone, and where is it leading? Where does the machine assistant end and an algorithm capable of acting autonomously begin? And are we really approaching the age of Terminators?

Ukrinform set out to find out.

During the press conference at Ukrinform. Photo by Yuliia Ovsiannikova

FIND, IDENTIFY, DESTROY

Imagine a conventional reconnaissance drone. It is flying over enemy positions and transmitting a live video feed to the operator. In the past, the operator had to spend hours watching the screen, searching among trees, buildings, and roads for a Russian tank or artillery piece. Now some of that work can be handed over to a computer.

An AI algorithm analyzes the video alongside the operator and identifies targets: a tank, an armored vehicle, an aircraft, or other military equipment.

DELTA. ArmyInform photo

This is how Ukraine&rsquo;s innovative Avengers artificial intelligence system works, integrated into the DELTA combat ecosystem. It analyzes video from drones and automatically searches for Russian military equipment. According to Ukraine&rsquo;s Ministry of Defense, the system can identify an object in a video stream within seconds. For a human operator, this means something very simple: there is no need to watch the entire video—the computer automatically filters out irrelevant footage.

This is the first step. But it gets more interesting from here.

Finding a target does not necessarily mean hitting it. The operator has to control the drone, keep the target in view, and adjust its flight path. Meanwhile, the enemy is jamming the communications link. So the next step is to teach the drone to understand where it is going on its own. The Ukrainian Dovbach system, for example, uses a camera and specialized software that automatically identifies the target and helps the drone...