Russia Closes Ukraine's Technological Gap as West Urged to Ramp Up Support
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has warned that Ukraine is rapidly losing its technological advantage over Russia in the ongoing war. In an opinion column for The Washington Post, Schmidt stated that Moscow is adapting its weapons and expanding military production to counter Ukrainian innovations.
Schmidt, who chairs the Special Competitive Studies Project, has repeatedly traveled to Ukraine and helped its military develop battlefield technologies. He noted that Ukraine's main advantage during much of the war was its ability to quickly develop, test, and modify new weapons within weeks.
However, this edge is now diminishing as Russia develops counter-measures to Ukrainian innovations. For example, after Ukraine developed interceptor drones capable of destroying Russian Shahed-type drones, Moscow began deploying faster jet-powered variants that are more difficult to intercept.
Schmidt also warned that Russia is developing a satellite constellation intended to rival Starlink, which Ukrainian drone units use to target Russian forces in occupied territory. He urged Western governments to treat Ukraine's defense industry as an extension of their own by jointly manufacturing weapons and resolving supply-chain bottlenecks.