Ukraine has mastered cutting-edge warfare technologies that many armies around the world cannot even imagine — and even the United States can learn from it.
That’s according to retired U.S. Marine Corps four-star General John R. Allen, Director of the Geotechnology Center at GLOBSEC, who spoke to Ukrinform during the GLOBSEC forum.
“You have digitalized your forces in ways that we have to both admire and, I think, emulate in many respects,” Allen said. “You fight from the cloud. Most armies can’t at this point. You are applying artificial intelligence tools to the management of enormous amounts of data in the cloud. And then you’re able through data management and data flow to provide very precise fires on enemy targets in ways that I think most armies can’t even begin to imagine putting together. So, Ukraine is teaching the world a lot, and we should be paying close attention.”
Allen, who previously commanded NATO’s ISAF and U.S. Forces in Afghanistan (USFOR-A), and served as Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, said he was surprised by Ukraine’s SSU Spiderweb operation — but not by the innovation itself, since Ukraine has proven to be remarkably inventive.
According to Allen, drones alone are no longer “high-tech,” but the mindset and innovation behind Ukraine’s precision strikes — such as on Russian military airfields — represent the real technological breakthrough, and Ukraine deserves high praise.
He added that Ukrainians are moving at a speed that Russia struggles to match.
With the rise of AI and digital warfare, Allen noted, the theory of hyperwar is becoming reality — with conflicts accelerating at unprecedented speed. The Russia–Ukraine war is a vivid example of this.
The ability to take the war onto Russian territory, Allen said, is “a very sophisticated move.”
“Ukrainians ought to be taking the war to Russia every way it possibly can. The Russians should not feel that any part of Russia is safe. So, this has proven, I think, to Vladimir Putin and to Russia that there is no place in Russia potentially safe from the reach of Ukraine. And I think that was a very important, operation in that regard,” Allen said.
Allen declined to comment on future U.S. weapons support for Ukraine, calling it a political decision. However, he expressed hope that Donald Trump administration would continue to recognize that U.S., European, and Ukrainian interests are best served by sustained, large-scale American support.
As reported, on June 1, Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) conducted a simultaneous strike on four Russian military airfields — Olenya, Ivanovo, Dyagilevo, and Belaya — which housed Russian strategic bombers responsible for regular attacks on Ukrainian cities.
