"Such innovation constitutes the coming danger," cautions a defense consultant, who recently obtained a recently captured enemy drone.
It was no ordinary device either, it was revealed. Assisted by AI, this drone is able to find and strike objectives on its own.
Beskrestnov has inspected many unmanned systems in his role as the nation's defence forces consultant.
In contrast to previous versions, the drone did not transmit or receive communications, causing it to could not disrupted.
Russian and Ukrainian militaries have both been testing AI in this war, and for certain tasks are now deploying it, for finding targets, intelligence collection and clearing mines.
And for the nation's military, AI is now essential.
"The armed forces gets more than 50,000 footage feeds [from the front line] monthly that get analysed by artificial intelligence," says the deputy defence minister.
"It helps us quickly handle huge volumes of information, pinpoint objectives and place them on a digital chart."
AI-Empowered Technology as a Critical Tool
AI-empowered technology is regarded as a instrument that can enhance strategic planning, make the most of resources and ultimately save lives.
But when it comes to autonomous armaments, it is also transforming the warzone.
The country's troops currently employ AI-based systems enabling unmanned aircraft fix on a target and then operate independently for the last few hundred metres till the mission is over.
Signal disruption is impossible and shooting down such a small flying object proves difficult.
Ultimately such technologies will likely become fully autonomous armaments that can detect and destroy targets by themselves.
All a soldier will need to do is tap a button on a mobile application, notes a tech executive, chief executive of Ukrainian tech company.
It will do the rest, he says, locating the objective, releasing munitions, assessing the impact and then coming back to headquarters.
"It doesn't demand flight experience from the user," he continues.
Interceptor Drones and Future Advancements
Interceptor drones with such automation might greatly enhance air defences targeting Russian remote strike aircraft, such as the infamous Shaheds.
"An AI-driven autonomous system can be superior to a person in numerous aspects," explains Azhnyuk. "It can be more perceptive. It detects the target faster than a human can. It is more agile."
The official indicates that kind of system is not yet available, but he mentions Ukraine is close to completing its creation. "We have partly implemented it in some devices," states the representative.
It's possible there will be many thousands of such systems in place by the year 2026, claims the developer.
Concerns and Dangers of Full Independence
However Local creators are cautious about fully making use of defence systems that depend solely on AI, without any human involvement. The danger is AI might not differentiate a Ukrainian soldier from a hostile one, since both could be using the identical attire, says an engineer, who declined to give his surname.
The firm produces remote-operated machine guns, that employ artificial intelligence to autonomously identify people and track them. Due to concerns over friendly fire, he states they avoid including an auto-fire feature.
"It can be activated, but we must gain further expertise and more feedback from the military units in order to determine when it is safe to employ this capability."
Ethical Issues and Global Rules
Additionally, there are concerns that AI-driven technologies will violate the rules of war. How can they avoid harming non-combatants, or distinguish soldiers who want to surrender?
For the deputy defence minister, the final decision in such circumstances must be made by a human, although AI would make it "easier to decide". But it's not certain that nations or armed groups will follow global humanitarian standards.
Therefore neutralizing these systems becomes increasingly critical.
How do you stop a "swarm of drones" when electronic warfare or using jets, tanks or rockets is rendered ineffective?
Ukraine's very effective "Spider Web" operation, when a hundred drones targeted enemy military airports in June, was probably assisted by AI tools.
Numerous locals worry that Moscow may replicate that tactic, not only on the battlefront but beyond it as well.
Ukraine's leader warned the UN last month that AI was fueling "the worst arms race in human history."
He called for international regulations for the application of AI in weapons, and stated the issue was "just as urgent as stopping the proliferation of atomic arms."
