But Papperger contended that Ukraine’s systems aren’t as sophisticated as the products of major Western defense firms. “This is not the technology of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, or Rheinmetall,” he said.
By contrast, Papperger added, Ukraine’s decentralized drone production is amateurish. “It’s Ukrainian housewives,” he said. “They have 3-D printers in the kitchen, and they produce parts for drones … This is not innovation.”
The remarks provoked indignation in Kyiv.
Alexander Kamyshin, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, praised the role of Ukrainian civilians in sustaining wartime production. “I see Ukrainian women working equally with men often enough,” he wrote on X. “They deserve respect.”
Others responded more forcefully. Iaroslav Kalinin, chief executive of Ukrainian defense firm Infozahyst, argued that military innovations should be judged by their effectiveness on the battlefield, not their technological complexity. “A $500 FPV drone that destroys a tank worth millions — that is innovation,” he wrote on Facebook. “Not by your corporate standards, but by the only standard that matters in war — efficiency.”
Kalinin also criticized Western defense companies for what he described as their cautious approach to transferring technology to Kyiv. “We will have our own inventions — not thanks to you, but in spite of you,” he said.