Ukraine leverages creativity to outmatch Russia’s conventional power – expert

Valentyn Badrak, director of the Center for Army, Conversion and Disarmament Studies and co-founder of the Consortium for Defence Information, told Espreso that such battlefield creativity has effectively transformed Ukraine’s military.

“For example, quadcopter drops existed before, but it was Ukraine’s Defense Forces that turned them into a systematic, mass use of unmanned systems — in the air, at sea and on land. In effect, this changed the course of the war, turning a weak, poorly armed military into a modern and capable army,” Badrak said.

The drive for innovation, he noted, stems from necessity — the lack of conventional means to counter a lethal threat. Among the most striking improvisations:

Propeller planes as interceptors. Old Czech Moravan Z-137 Agro Turbo crop-dusters were refitted with Soviet R-73 air-to-air missiles, enabling them to shoot down not only Iranian Shahed drones but also cruise missiles.

Soviet Buk systems with American missiles. Russia’s mass missile barrages beginning in October 2022 quickly depleted Ukraine’s Soviet-era stocks. With Western air-defense deliveries too slow, Ukrainian engineers came up with a bold solution: adapting Soviet launchers to fire U.S.-made air-to-air missiles, of which Washington had thousands in storage.

Naval drones with missile capability. In December 2024, Ukraine modified Soviet-designed Osa launchers to fire R-73 missiles. According to the Come Back Alive Foundation, which funded the project, modernization cost just 14 million hryvnias. By March 2025, photos of the new system armed with R-73s appeared online. Badrak stressed the significance: “It’s another cheap, mass option capable of serious combat missions.”

Magura V5 armed with R-73. Ukraine also mounted R-73s on the Magura V5 naval drone — what Badrak called “the art of the possible and the first case in history of such a weapon system.” At under $250,000 apiece, these drones have destroyed helicopters and warships worth millions. “In a war of attrition, the cost of weapons matters,” he noted.

Interceptor drones. Copter-type drones have been reconfigured into interceptors — useful both for taking prisoners and evacuating the wounded.

“Ukrainians have clearly demonstrated, and continue to demonstrate almost daily, that they know how to fight creatively — in other words, unconventionally, changing the very patterns of war,” Badrak concluded.