Future wars will be fought between AI-powered autonomous drones, Ukraine's former defense minister says

Mykhailo Fedorov, the former Ukrainian defense minister who spearheaded the country's drone-centered military overhaul before his recent dismissal, said Ukraine's technology-driven war strategy will continue.

In an interview with The New York Times published Thursday, Fedorov said he was convinced that "robots and drones should fight wherever possible," adding that it was "the way to save the lives of our soldiers."

He said only an army "equipped with cheap, smart and mass-produced weapons" could survive in the new era of warfare.

Fedorov said the war was moving toward the "robotization of the front line" and greater reliance on remote drone operation to keep soldiers out of harm's way.

He predicted the conflict would ultimately evolve into a form where "AI-based autonomous drones fight other autonomous drones."

During his six months as defense minister, Fedorov put that philosophy into practice and helped transform the nature of Ukraine's war against Russia.

He is credited in particular with significantly strengthening Ukraine's drone capabilities, including developing domestically produced combat drones to replace Chinese-made ones.

The approach won broad public support but brought him into conflict with the military establishment. President Volodymyr Zelensky ultimately dismissed Fedorov on July 17.

Fedorov said his dismissal might delay the reform effort, but that it had already advanced too far to be stopped.

Ukrainian drones currently account for roughly 95 percent of Russian casualties on the front line — a better result than all conventional weapons combined, he said.

Fedorov also said he would not return to the Zelensky government unless reinstated as defense minister, and claimed that defense industry lobbyists had actively pushed for his removal.

He added that regardless of whether he returned to government, he would continue advocating for the deployment of robotic systems in combat.

"Most frontline infantry can be replaced by sensors, machine guns mounted on automated turrets and drones," he said.