CEO and founder of Fourth Law, as well as Co-founder of Odd Systems Yaroslav Azhnyuk criticized European arms manufacturers, as well as Europe’s attempts to «sit on two chairs» during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
CEO and founder of Fourth Law, as well as Co-founder of Odd Systems Yaroslav Azhnyuk criticized European arms manufacturers, as well as Europe’s attempts to «sit on two chairs» during the Russian-Ukrainian war.
«Will they be ready for defense by 2029? Or any other year that someone decides to choose? Let’s say 2027, as our friends in the US or Taiwan say? What has to happen for us to leave the pink castle with rainbow ponies that we are all used to living in? We live in a lie, and we lie to ourselves every day,» Azhnyuk said during the forum «Joint Ventures, Joint Defense,» which was attended by a dev.ua correspondent.
The founder of Ukrainian defense startups, as well as the company Petcube, which produces gadgets for pet owners, emphasized that over the course of more than 3.5 years of the Russian-Ukrainian war, European defense companies have not truly joined the arms race, and EU governments continue to prioritize their bureaucratic procedures.
«For example, the same procurement cycles that last for years — what is this even? Everyone knows it’s bullshit. Everyone knows it doesn’t work. Everyone knows we need a different model. So why do we keep doing this?» Yaroslav Azhnyuk asked rhetorical questions.
He also focused on the fact that Europe and the US are completely unprepared for a «drone war», although this aspect is crucial in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian war.
«On the front line, 60-80% of losses are from drones — the same applies to the opposing side. I saw how poor the combat readiness is regarding FPV in Europe and the USA. How many FPV drones did your country produce last year? How many drone brigades do you have? Who among you even knows how to operate them? The answer to this is zero or a number so small that you would need a microscope to see it!», Azhnyuk continued to raise acute questions.
Separately, the tech entrepreneur spoke out against Europe’s desire to continue trade with Russia in the energy sector, as well as the export of technological goods for the Russian «war machine» through third countries.
«What about the gas that Europe buys from Russia? How much money was spent on it last year? Is it really impossible, after 3.5 years of a full-scale war, not to buy gas from Russia? Have you seen the number of various components supplied by Germany to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan? They have increased 10 times recently. What is happening? Is the industry of Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan really developing so quickly?» Azhnyuk said at the forum.
Let us remind you that Yaroslav Azhnyuk’s startup The Fourth Law announced the first round of financing and the release of the autonomy module for TFL-1 drones.
The founder of startups TheFourthLaw and Odd Systems , Yaroslav Azhnyuk, also explained why his companies' products, such as the Stus-7 or Horska-12 drones, are named after Ukrainian dissidents.
