Inside Ukraine’s Defense Tech Valley: Returning from Lviv

In this episode of Eastern Circle's War Tech Talk, host Anastasia Shapochkina sits down with Alex Fink, the American CEO of Swarmer, to discuss the present and future of AI on the battlefield. Swarmer is currently working in Ukraine to develop decentralised coordination systems using cooperative AI. Their core mission is to move away from the traditional one-to-one pilot-to-drone ratio, automating the process so that a single human operator can control hundreds of drones simultaneously.

Anastasiya Shapochkina and Bohdan Kostiuk sit down with Fedir Serdiuk, co-founder of MOWA Defence Advisory and one of the key figures in Ukraine's shift from an assistance-seeking country to a defense partner and security provider.In this episode:→ Why large-scale combat operations require a completely different doctrine than the Global War on Terror→ Ukraine's "beautiful chaos" and why a zoo of weapons is a feature, not a bug→ What it actually means to sell capability instead of equipment→ How veterans are becoming core assets in the private defense sector→ Why Europe's focus on drones misses the pointUkraine started FPV warfare with drones built in people's garages. It became an industrial capability producing millions of units a year. The technology followed the people, not the other way around.

In this episode of War Tech Talk, Anastasia Shapochkina sits down with Misha Rudominski, co-founder and CEO of Himera, a Ukrainian developer of advanced communication systems. Born during the defense of Kyiv in 2022, where demand for secure communication far outnumbered supply, Himera developed a tactical radio that functions as a "digital ghost"—specifically designed to be hard to detect, intercept, and jam. Rudaminsky explains the company’s four pillars of modern military technology: reliability, scalability, affordability, and ease of use. The conversation explores how Himera uses self-managing mesh networks to overcome environmental obstacles and Russian electronic warfare, their strategic commitment to a China-independent supply chain, and their recent expansion into international markets.

In this episode of War Tech Talk, Anastasia Shapochkina speaks with Ukrainian Army veteran and Come Back Alive member Danylo Shynhelsky to reveal the inner workings of the Dronefall air defense project. We discuss how Ukrainian air defense actually works, from logistics to AI applications, to HR and civil-military cooperation.To support Come Back Alive NGO and their Dronefall project: https://payment-page.charge-auth.com/charity/comebackalive/LAQb27N?traffic_source=easterncircles_2026 

In this episode, we interview Vladislav Piotrovskyi, the co-founder and CEO of the Ukrainian defense startup DWARF Engineering.We are discussing the rapid evolution of AI and drone technology on the battlefield, IP rights, trust between the defense tech actors, and investment in Ukrainian deftech.

In this episode of War Tech Talk, Anastasiya Shapochkina and Bohdan Kostiuk sit down with an expert from the Medoid Design Bureau to unpack the rise, mechanics, and battlefield effects of guided or glide bombs in the Russia–Ukraine war. We examine how these low-noise, high-yield weapons change tactical math, the psychological toll on defenders, and why Ukraine faces a production gap despite urgent operational needs. Listen for on-the-ground technical explanations, economic comparisons with artillery, and what it would take to reach parity.Music by: 0bpm

We are back from Lviv, Ukraine, where we spent last week at Defense Tech Valley, Ukraine’s signature deftech expo and forum. In this episode, we share our insight from the conversations with Ukrainian and visiting investors and producers about technology and investment trends, as Ukraine’s president announced the opening of defense exports. Song: Revenge by Alex Productions / Music powered by Breaking Copyright

Russia’s drone strike on Poland reveals NATO’s vulnerabilities — and Moscow’s strategy. Eastern Circles’ analysts Anastasiya Shapochkina, Daryna-Maryna Patiuk, and Bohdan Kostiuk take you inside the story. Featuring expert voices Serhii Herasymchuk (Ukrainian Prism) and Romain Le Quiniou (Euro Créative).

This week, War Tech Talk unpacks the next chapter in Ukraine’s internal political saga with the latest revision to its anti-corruption laws—and why it’s stirring controversy. Then, we dive into the financial aftermath: how Kyiv's international partners are reacting and what’s at stake economically. Finally, in our defense tech segment, we examine Russia’s new wave of jet-engine powered Shahed drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and the emerging counter-drone solutions.

On July 22, President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a new law limiting the powers of Ukraine anti-corruption agencies. He reversed the law two days later in response to a push-back on Kyiv streets and in Brussels high offices. Had it remained unchanged, the law would have ended the independence of Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies. The uproar happened as the attention in Ukraine was turned to the government reshuffle, and internationally to Trump’s U-turn on Russia and Ukraine.We sit down with Anastasiya Shapochkina, President of Eastern Circles think tank, along with Bohdan Kostiuk and Daryna-Maryna Patiuk, Eastern Circles Ukraine and defense analysts, to untangle the latest domestic, international and military technology developments in the country.This podcast was recorded on Wednesday, July 23, as Rada voted the bill into law 12141. It was updated on Friday, 25/7, following Zelensky’s backpedaling and the introduction of the new law, preserving the independence of the state anti-corruption agencies.Edited by Amanda Mayo