Russia is adapting quickly in the war in Ukraine, and that is shrinking Kiev's technological advantage, former Google boss Eric Schmidt warned in an interview on the podcast The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim, broadcast on September 8. Schmidt, who is also the former chairman of the US National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, said that the frontline is now dominated by drones and that the changes are a “big threat” to Ukraine.
“Historically, Ukraine was the small, really smart, very fast innovator, and the Russians were big, slow, and not very capable. That has changed,” Schmidt said. He said the war had become a "death zone" where a person leaving a trench could be detected by a drone within minutes.
Jet drones change the balance
Schmidt cited Russian jet drones as a particularly worrying development, which he said were made with cheap components and flew faster than previous models. Reuters reported on September 15 that Ukraine was working on new interceptors to counter Russian jet drones, and that the standard Shahed flew at less than 200 km/h, while the new variants were significantly harder to hit. In the same article, Reuters reported that since the start of mass attacks with Shahed, Ukraine had achieved about a 90% interception rate against older models.
In the interview, Schmidt also claimed that Russian drones were now being equipped with small jet engines, which was reducing the effectiveness of Ukrainian interceptor drones. He said it was a sign that Moscow was adopting new technologies in warfare more quickly. The specific claims were not independently verified in the interview, but they do align with earlier Reuters reports about Russia’s accelerated adaptation on the battlefield.
Schmidt warns of even more severe strikes
The former Google executive said Russia was also ramping up other weapons, including ballistic missiles, guided bombs and a broader mobilization base. Reuters reported on September 18 that Russian authorities had also adapted old missiles for use against Ukraine, adding to the picture of a rapidly evolving arsenal. In the interview, Schmidt said that without additional Western assistance, Ukraine would be forced to fight cheaper and faster means of attack, while defense remains expensive and difficult to scale.
He also warned of a possible Russian counterpart to Starlink, which he said could provide uninterrupted communication for drones and missiles and reduce the effect of electronic jamming. Reuters reported back in January that Ukraine was working with SpaceX to limit the risk of Russia using Starlink to guide drones. This shows that communication systems are already part of the military race itself.
Schmidt concluded by calling on the West to accelerate aid to Kiev. "The Ukrainians have a courage that I can't imagine," he said, adding that the country needed "money and technological assistance" to deal with the new wave of attacks.
Sources: Reuters, NBC News, Sky News