Ukraine to share wartime combat data with allies to help train AI

KYIV – Ukraine will establish a system allowing its allies to train their artificial intelligence (AI) models on Kyiv’s valuable combat data collected throughout the nearly four-year war with Russia, newly appointed Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.

Mr Fedorov – a former digitalisation minister who last week took up the post to drive reforms across Ukraine’s vast Defence Ministry and armed forces – has described Kyiv’s wartime data trove as one of its “cards” in negotiations with other nations.

Since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has gathered

extensive battlefield information

, including systematically logged combat statistics and millions of hours of drone footage captured from above.

Such data are important for training AI models, which require large volumes of real-world information to identify patterns and predict how people or objects might act in various situations. 

“Today, front-line data has extraordinary value,” Mr Fedorov said on Jan 20, adding that there was demand for this data from allies. “We will build a system on which they can train their software products using our data.”

He has previously said that Ukraine was using AI technology from US data analytics firm Palantir for both military and civilian applications.

Outlining his plans for the wartime Defence Ministry after his appointment, he said he wanted to “more actively” integrate allies into projects.

He said his team was receiving advice from the Center for Strategic and International Studies and RAND in the US, as well as Britain’s Royal United Services Institute. 

Mavic replacement

Mr Fedorov also said Ukraine would test its home-grown replacement for China’s DJI Mavic drone in January, which is widely used for aerial reconnaissance on the front lines by both sides. He did not disclose the manufacturer.

Ukraine has previously raised concerns about reliance on Beijing for drones and components, given China’s deepening diplomatic ties with Russia.

“We will have our own Mavic analogue: the same camera, but with a longer flight range,” Mr Fedorov said. REUTERS