Zelenskyy Calls for Faster U.S. Tech-Ukraine Defense Cooperation on CBS

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said American technology companies and Ukraine should move from discussion to concrete steps in joint development of AI and drone systems. Zelenskyy appeared on CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. He stated that American firms possess AI technologies Ukraine lacks, while Ukraine offers battlefield experience the companies do not have.

"American technological companies have a lot of different interesting AI technologies that we don't have. And we have a lot of things that they don't have because of our experience on the battlefield," Zelenskyy said. " Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine over four years ago.

Ukraine has built an arsenal of drone and anti-drone technology on a limited budget during that period. Ukraine said three types of homegrown drones enabled strikes near Moscow earlier this month. It also reported development of a fixed-wing mid-range attack drone used to reach areas previously considered safe by Russian forces.

Ukraine has learned that drone units must remain mobile and that command centers require underground protection, according to statements from Ukrainian officials. A state-backed "Test in Ukraine" program launched last year has drawn applications from hundreds of international companies seeking to test drones, counter-drone systems, AI tools, electronic warfare equipment, naval drones, and ground robots.

Business Insider reported that Silicon Valley defense firms, including Anduril led by Palmer Luckey who created the Oculus headset acquired by Facebook in 2014, have raised billions of dollars to build uncrewed weapons systems.

Zelenskyy said the time for talks has passed. "We need to negotiate already. Not to speak about it. Just to take steps and to do it as quick as possible," he stated on Sunday.