

Ukraine vs Russia: who leads the tech battle? - with Glib Voloskyi
Aug 22, 2025
44:40
Why is technology playing such a decisive role in this war? Who is ahead in technological innovation—Ukraine or Russia? How are drones reshaping the battlefield, and how might they also transform technologies of peace? And why must Europe step up its technological cooperation with Ukraine?
***
Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine.
Guest: Glib Voloskyi, analyst at the Initiatives Centre of Come Back Alive (Povernys zhyvym) — one of Ukraine’s most prominent charitable foundations, supporting the military and veterans since 2014.
***
Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media project about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine.
Listen on various platforms (apple, youtube, spotify, soundcloud, amazon etc): https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine
This episode is also made in partnership with Politeia, a Ukrainian NGO focusing on preparing a new generation of change-makers in Ukraine.
***
SUPPORT US:
You can support our work on Patreon: www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld
Your contributions are essential, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding.
You can also help fund our volunteer trips to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we support both soldiers and civilians.
Donations are welcome via PayPal: ukraine.resisting@gmail.com
***
CONTENTS:
00:00 — The role of technology in war: who's winning the tech race?
01:34 — Russia’s real strategy: what are the goals?
02:12 — How Russia miscalculated: failed plans, logistics collapse and retreats
05:52 — The evolving Russian strategy: attrition and imperial ambitions
08:41 — Is this really a “Ukrainian conflict” or is it actually a Russian imperial war?
10:10 — Ukraine’s defence: from resilience to drone innovation
11:32 — The fierce race in drone technology
13:41 — What’s next? Land robots, unmanned vehicles and battlefield robotics
15:07 — Artificial intelligence at war: from target recognition to social media scans
16:40 — Dependency on Chinese tech: risk or overstated concern?
17:54 — Europe’s wake-up call: how possible it is to lose the technological race
20:33 — Tanks, drones and the future of warfare: what lessons are really learned?
25:24 — NATO partners and military conservatism: who adapts, who resists?
26:19 — Ukraine’s defence industry revival: grassroots innovation vs. scaling up
29:56 — Naval drones, land drones and robotics: Ukraine’s asymmetric advantage
31:37 — The myth of a "wonder weapon"
37:32 — Human body vs. artificial bodies: why soldiers can’t be replaced
39:01 — Why Russia destroys cities instead of capturing them
40:26 — The hidden battlefield: information wars and internal destabilisation
42:12 — The greatest danger ahead: forced concessions