Taras Kuzio
The world’s first drone, digital, and cyber war is taking place in Ukraine. Previously, these wars were one-sided, as seen when the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (2001–2021) and Azerbaijan (2020) used drones against Afghan and Armenian combatants who did not possess this technology. In Russia’s war against Ukraine, both sides are using domestic and foreign drones, but Ukraine has a ten-to-one advantage in their number (X.com/ChrisO_wiki, August 21; Golos Amerikii, September 19). Resilience, innovation, adaptation, and quick learning have allowed Ukraine to stay one step ahead of Russia. Horizontal ties between civil society, volunteer groups, a decentralized government, and the Ukrainian military define Ukraine as fundamentally different from Russia’s vertically organized, authoritarian state and society.
Ukraine is fighting a people’s war that includes domestic and foreign volunteers, tractor and truck drivers, and the private sector (see EDM, March 16, 2022). Ukrainians in occupied territory use their mobile phones to collect data on Russian troops, passing information to the military through the eVorog app (Kmu.gov.ua, May 15, 2022; Ukrinform, August 6, 2022). Surveillance cameras in shops, offices, and roads are used as intelligence sources on Russian troop movements. Other Ukrainians work alongside foreign volunteers in Ukraine’s internet technology (IT) army, hacking and launching cyber-attacks against Russia in the “civilianization of the digital battlefield” (see EDM, July 3). 3D printers, tablets, mobile telephones, and laptops donated by volunteers are used on the front line to make spare parts and as targeting tools (Euromaidan Press, September 21)..
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