Russia is combining faster drones, mass attacks and repeated technological upgrades to put Ukraine’s air defenses under growing pressure. How can Ukraine respond — and what should the United States and Europe learn?
Kateryna Bondar, a senior fellow with the Wadhwani AI Center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a former adviser to the Ukrainian government, joins Independence Avenue Media’s Kartlos Sharashenidze to examine the changing drone war.
Bondar says her analysis shows major Russian Geran drone upgrades roughly every 90 days. She explains why Ukraine is developing several types of interceptors, why affordable air defense matters, and why no single technology is likely to solve the problem.
The conversation also explores China’s role in drone supply chains and what it learns from Russian and Ukrainian procurement; the challenges facing America’s drone industry; why the Pentagon’s Drone Dominance Program needs training, doctrine and integration alongside procurement; Europe’s preparedness; and the shift toward autonomous systems and AI-assisted command and control.
Recorded October 28, 2026.
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