Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s former defense minister, presented an “Army of Robots” initiative at the IT Arena conference in Lviv on September 26, 2026, according to the Kyiv Independent, Defense News and Breaking Defense. According to Breaking Defense, he said: “The mission of the Army of Robots is to save lives.”

The targets

Outlets reported two goals, worded slightly differently:

  • Within six months: a first “confirmed battlefield result using a humanoid robot” (Breaking Defense); the first enemy soldier killed by a humanoid robot (Kyiv Independent, which said the figures came from Ukrainian media in the room); a first confirmed battlefield result from “a humanoid-like robot” (Defense News).
  • Within twelve months: “an assault operation” (Breaking Defense); a successful assault on an enemy position with no infantry involved (Kyiv Independent); an assault in which robots take on the most dangerous parts of a mission (Defense News).

Fedorov described the project as an ecosystem rather than a single company, combining investment in defense companies, research and development, joint trials with the armed forces and scaling up systems that work, according to Breaking Defense and the Kyiv Independent. The presentation included a video that the Kyiv Independent and Defense News described as AI-generated and Breaking Defense as CGI. Defense News said the designs shown are not used in combat in Ukraine today.

Reaction in Ukraine

Breaking Defense reported on October 1 that Borys Drozhak, founder of the ground-robot maker Rovertech, argued that two-legged robots are less stable and more costly than wheeled ones. Kateryna Chernohorenko, deputy defense minister for digital transformation from 2023 to 2025, said: “It was a surprise for me, the launch of this project.” She said her priority would be cheaper cruise missiles. Breaking Defense said Fedorov’s press team did not respond to a request for comment.

His posts

Fedorov was minister of digital transformation from 2019 and was appointed defense minister on January 14, 2026, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence. The Kyiv Independent reported on July 15, 2026 that President Volodymyr Zelensky had dismissed him as defense minister as part of a government overhaul.

Adviser to Italy’s defense minister

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto offered Fedorov an adviser role after his dismissal, Reuters reported on July 25. On August 28, after receiving him in Rome, Crosetto wrote on X that he was pleased Fedorov had agreed to advise him, according to AGI. Italian outlets give the title as adviser for defence innovation. Il Sole 24 Ore, citing the Financial Times, reported that the role is unpaid and that Fedorov will continue to live and work in Kyiv. The Italian tech outlet GiornaleTecnologico reported on October 7 that the appointment does not amount to Italian participation in the Army of Robots and that official Italian defence communiqués show no such commitment. Lens found no Italian official statement on the question either way.

A Karp-backed company, and Mission Defense Partners

On September 1, Fedorov announced plans for a defense technology company with Palantir CEO Alex Karp as its first major investor, according to the Kyiv Independent and Defense News; no name or amount was given. Defense News described that company as separate from the Army of Robots.

On November 11, Interfax-Ukraine, Militarnyi and DroneXL reported, citing an interview that Pavlo Yelizarov, founder of the Lasar’s Group drone unit, gave the Ukrainian outlet DOU, that Fedorov and Yelizarov have set up a company called Mission Defense Partners, in which Yelizarov owns about a third. Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying the company’s planned missile against Shahed drones “must be inexpensive, about $20,000-25,000”; Militarnyi described a short-range missile with a range of up to 15 km and a radar seeker. DroneXL said the interview does not say whether Mission Defense Partners is the company Fedorov announced in September. Interfax-Ukraine reported that Yelizarov hopes the agreements with Palantir will be signed soon.

Related: Ukraine’s Brave1 grants for military humanoid robots; Foundation’s Phantom humanoids in Ukraine.

Sources and notes

Sources: Kyiv Independent, September 26, 2026; Defense News, September 30; Breaking Defense, October 1; Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, January 14; Kyiv Independent, July 15; Reuters via Internazionale, July 25; AGI, August 28 (Italian); Il Post, August 28 (Italian); Il Sole 24 Ore, August 29; GiornaleTecnologico, October 7 (Italian); Kyiv Independent, September 1; Defense News, September 1; Interfax-Ukraine, November 11; Militarnyi, November 11; DroneXL, November 11. Notes: the Italian Defence Ministry’s own release on the appointment could not be opened. Lens did not read Reuters’ September 1 report, the Ukrainska Pravda and Fanpage coverage of the Lviv presentation, or Yelizarov’s DOU interview. Whether Karp invests personally or through Palantir, and how much, has not been disclosed in the sources read. An Italian blog’s claim that Italy asked the EU for €8.9 million for the project is not supported by its own cited source and is not used. Thumbnail photo: Lviv’s old town, December 2015, by George Chernilevsky, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons; cropped. Illustrative: it shows the city where the presentation took place, not the event.

Image: George Chernilevsky (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons.