Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Claims Partners Now Understand the Importance of Drones, While a Report from Kramatorsk Reveals How Electronic Warfare Is Becoming a Key Battlefield.
Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Fedorov stated on Monday, August 17, 2026, that the next phase of the war in Ukraine will be marked by the battle of autonomous systems. "The next phase of this war will be robots and drones fighting against other autonomous robots and drones," Fedorov said, as reported by Clash Report.
Fedorov emphasized that Western partners have only recently realized the importance of drone technology. "Two or three years ago, our partners did not understand the new reality. They asked us why we were betting on drones, why we were investing heavily in these directions, and they did not believe that the future belonged to drones and that it was a drone war," he said. He added that today, all key partners understand that the situation is different and that the future belongs to drones and robotic technologies.
A report by the French newspaper Le Figaro, published on the same day, reveals how the new phase of warfare is already unfolding on the ground in Donbas. Journalist Clara Marchaud, a special correspondent in Donbas, described how Ukrainian forces are using electronic warfare to counter Russian drones near the city of Kramatorsk.
In a forest on a hill several dozen kilometers from the front line, the commander of a radio-electronic reconnaissance platoon, with the call sign Robin, sets up an antenna for the Azimuth system. This is a portable system from the Ukrainian manufacturer Kvertus, whose antenna can detect enemy drones within a radius of 35 kilometers.
"Once a target is spotted, all our tools can strike it at the same time," Robin told Le Figaro.
Robin also explained the nature of electronic warfare, which is constantly evolving. "Electronic warfare always lags behind development: we develop countermeasures against already existing enemy technologies," he said.
Although the topic has no direct connection to Croatia, the development of drone warfare and electronic countermeasures in Ukraine has broader security implications for Europe. The technological race between Ukrainian and Russian forces is changing the nature of modern warfare, and experiences from the Donbas front are increasingly shaping military doctrines across the continent.
