The Extraordinary Story: The “crazy professors” making drones for Ukraine

From: The Economist IE Sep-15-2024 11:19:am

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August 6th 2023

The Extraordinary Story

Long reads and life from 1843 magazine, delivered every Sunday

UKRAINE

Meet the “crazy professors” making drones for Ukraine

Hobbyists are crucial to the war effort. Why does the government want them to stop?

The day before Vladimir Putin’s “special military operation” was a good one for Alexei and Kostya, tech entrepreneurs in their 30s from the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine. An investor had agreed to fund their startup: the friends were developing a device to make electric-car charging-points more efficient. Alexei was an electronics engineer at Kherson State University. Kostya was the manager of the local Apple Store. (They didn’t want to give their surnames.)

Within days, Kherson fell to the Russians and the men’s plans were in tatters. The Apple Store was looted and closed; university classes were suspended. The men joined the resistance – Alexei made explosives in his apartment while Kostya drove his red Tesla round the city pretending to be a taxi but actually delivering ammonia to bombmakers. When Kherson was liberated in November, they started a new business: making drones for the Ukrainian army.

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