Ukraine: Innovation now, not tomorrow

History has shown us how nations enter into conflicts with lessons from the previous. And get bruised. The main reason is technology. We've often heard that knowledge is power. We can assume that knowledge transformed into technology is even more power: Longbows, gunpowder, steamships, radar and jet fighters all changed the nature of war.

Europe's support to Ukraine is not altruistic. Not only are the Ukrainians fighting against a (hybrid) threat to all of Europe, but Europe is also gaining significant insights from the war in Ukraine. Despite the grim reality, each military equipment sent to Ukraine yields a valuable return: knowledge. And one thing we've learned is that knowledge turned into technology quickly is even more power. The balance of the war is not only about soldiers, shells, and drones but also about how quickly you can innovate. Ukraine and Russia are locked in a game of innovation speed.

It follows that if Europe wants to help Ukraine win the war, it should help Ukraine maintain and develop its high-octane innovation ecosystem. In return, from Oslo to Madrid and from Sofia to Istanbul, the governments of Western Europe will learn much from how innovation should be done. This two-way push is why I am in Ukraine now, meeting entrepreneurs, startups, and innovators.

A few days ago, Hezbollah published a detailed drone video of the Israeli Navy base at Haifa. While the Palestinians dug tunnels, the Israelis used AI systems to pick out 30,000 targets (for which half were attacked) for the first months of the conflict, a humanly impossible achievement.?

We know knowledge is power, and that knowledge turned into technology is even more power. And that knowledge turned into technology quickly is more power than that again. But there is something else we knew but now we learn how important it is: knowledge turned into inexpensive technology quickly is the most power.

While Denmark is discussing spending five billion EURO on warships, Ukraine's cheap drones pushed Russia’s fleet to a corner of the Black Sea. ? While Ukraine wants more Patriot systems to defend its cities, shooting down $1,000 drones with $5 million Patriot missiles is not sustainable. Such lack of cost parity is not sustainable, neither in war or peace.

We have thus arrived at the following understanding:

• Knowledge is power
• Knowledge transformed into technology is more power
• Knowledge quickly transformed into technology is even more power
• Knowledge quickly transformed into inexpensive technology is the most power.?

Those who innovate the fastest and cheapest win. ? Today, the Ukrainians innovate at a rate that is impressively faster and cheaper than anything in Western Europe.?

Because they have to.?