Ukraine Must Win War Through Technology, Not Manpower - Dignitas Ukraine President

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) This was emphasized by Dmytro Kavun, president of the American non-profit organization Dignitas Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrinfor.

“Ukraine does not have unlimited human resources and is not willing to lose its people. Victory must be technological and innovative,” he said.

Kavun emphasized the key role of unmanned systems in modern combat operation.

“Without drones, Ukraine would not have been able to achieve its current level of defense. The war has become technological. The Ukrainian military has shown incredible courage, but it is technology, in my opinion, that has changed the course of the war in Ukraine's favor,” he said.

At the same time, according to him, Russia is also adapting to the new conditions.

“Unfortunately, Russia is also learning,” Kavun noted.

He added that the Russian Federation is actively adopting and scaling up technologies.

“They steal technology from us, copy it, and put it into production. Of course, there is corruption and inefficiency, but there is a lot of money,” Kavun said.

According to him,“we are also trying to steal technology from them; cybersecurity and cyber intelligence are critically important here.”

Speaking about the peculiarities of defense innovations in Ukraine and Russia, Kavun emphasized the differences in approaches.“Ukraine has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is the great diversity of people working on technological problems. The disadvantage is that companies often lack the funding to bring a project from a basic product to large-scale production.”

In Russia, there is less diversity,“but there is focus: if they say to do something, they do it,” he noted.

According to the interviewee, the technological cycle of weapon upgrades in modern warfare has become very short.

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Drones have opened Pandora's box, and there is no going back, he stressed.

Kavun also pointed to the rapid growth in the number of FPV drone manufacturers in Ukraine: at the beginning of 2023, there were about 50, in 2024 – 250, and their number is constantly growing. There are both“small groups of 2-3 people” and companies with millions in turnover. A significant part of them receive state orders, he noted.

The head of Dignitas Ukraine added that the procurement system has also changed. Previously, everything went through the Ministry of Defense,“and it was very inefficient.” Now, brigades can purchase directly. They have their own budgets and the ability to obtain drones that are used in specific areas.

According to Kavun, the Ukrainian experience is of great interest to the US.

“Local police departments, the FBI, and the military are interested in this. They understand that they are lagging behind,” he said.

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