International

Ukraine finds in technology its best ally for war

Ukraine has found in technology its best ally for war, with a commitment to innovation that makes the difference both on the battlefield and in the daily lives of millions of citizens who have to live with the invasion.

In a conflict that from the beginning has been compared to a fight between David and Goliath, the “slingshot” of Ukraine is technology: hybrids between a missile and a drone to accurately attack Russian bases, robots that evacuate wounded soldiers or kamikaze devices that destroy bridges.

Machines to support troops

“We are trying to fight them with machines because we do not have enough people,” explained the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation, Alex Bornyakov, in an interview with EFE during the Web Summit, the technology congress held this week in Lisbon.

This commitment to technological innovation allowed Ukraine to destroy part of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea with small kamikaze ships, an “exact example” of the metaphor between David and Goliath, the deputy minister said.

Ukrainian forces also use sentinel drones to monitor a territory, capable of attacking the enemy if necessary; robots that help evacuate soldiers so as not to endanger other companions; and autonomous devices to locate and extract mines.

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This year the biggest bet is drone missiles, such as the Palianytsia, with a flight range of between 500 and 700 kilometers and which can be used against targets in Russian territory.

“By next year we are definitely going to produce more of our own missiles,” explained Bornyakov, who explained that the budget for the purchase of drones is around 3,000 or 4 billion dollars.

In addition, they will allocate another 80 million to innovations in Defense.

Technology for day to day

These efforts are not only aimed at the battlefield but also at using technology to help Ukrainians live with the war on a daily basis.

An example is ‘Kiev Digital’, the mobile application that the City Council of the Ukrainian capital launched in 2021 and that since the invasion has become indispensable for the Kievites.

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“We notify people that a missile attack is coming. We offer you additional information about where the bomb shelters are, where the target of the attack is, which shelters have Wi-Fi and how to get there,” Oleg Polovynko, who advises the consistory on digitization issues, exemplified to EFE.

The app reports on other consequences of the war such as power cuts but also on the basic services of any city, such as the transport network or online procedures.

18% of the population uses it daily and about 40% weekly, said Polovynko, who assured that Kiev is already a global reference in digital transformation and “all cities have to learn” from it.

Objective: to boost the technological ecosystem

The Ukrainian technological ecosystem is present this year at the Web Summit with more than 80 start-ups, some of them oriented to the Defense sector, such as BeesAM and RMachine, specialized in mines.

Others, such as Inheart.memorial, are dedicated to helping to remember and honor the deceased, with a platform to make digital memorials that allows you to gather biographies, photographs, videos, links to social networks and other resources.

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Then a QR is created that is placed next to the tombstones, so that anyone can know their story.

Although the idea emerged before the war, it now includes many pages dedicated to the “heroes,” the CEO of the platform, Oleksander Sydorov, explained to EFE, who pointed out that they have added new features such as the last battle or the medals received.

Promoting the technological ecosystem was already one of the purposes of the Ukrainian Government in 2019, before the invasion, as the deputy minister recalled: “We set ourselves the goal of becoming one of the leading technological hubs in Europe.” The war has accelerated the process.

International

Marco Rubio warns Venezuela against military action against Guyana

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Venezuela on Thursday that a military attack on Guyana would be “a big mistake” and “a very bad day for them,” expressing his support for Georgetown in its territorial dispute with Caracas.

“It would be a very bad day for the Venezuelan regime if they attacked Guyana or ExxonMobil. It would be a very bad day, a very bad week for them, and it would not end well,” Rubio emphasized during a press conference in Georgetown alongside Guyanese President Irfaan Ali.

International

Ecuador oil spill worsens as containment dam collapses

The collapse of a containment dam holding back part of the 25,000+ barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline rupture nearly two weeks ago has worsened the environmental crisis in northwestern Ecuador, contaminating rivers and Pacific beaches.

The Ecuadorian government attributed the March 13 pipeline rupture—which led to the spill of 25,116 barrels of crude—to an act of sabotage. The spill affected three rivers and disrupted water supplies for several communities, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, due to heavy rains that have been falling since January, a containment dam on the Caple River collapsed. The Caple connects to other waterways in Esmeraldas Province, a coastal region bordering Colombia, state-owned Petroecuador said in a statement on Wednesday.

Seven containment barriers were installed in the Viche River, where crews worked to remove oil-contaminated debris. Additional absorbent materials were deployed in Caple, Viche, and Esmeraldas Rivers, which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

Authorities are also working to protect a wildlife refuge home to more than 250 species, including otters, howler monkeys, armadillos, frigatebirds, and pelicans.

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“This has been a total disaster,” said Ronald Ruiz, a leader in the Cube community, where the dam was located. He explained that the harsh winter rains caused river levels to rise, bringing debris that broke the containment barriersthat were holding the accumulated oil for extraction.

International

Federal court blocks Trump’s use of Enemy Alien Act for deportations

A federal appeals court upheld the block on former President Donald Trump’s use of the Enemy Alien Act on Wednesday, preventing him from using the law to expedite deportations of alleged members of the transnational criminal group Tren de Aragua.

With a 2-1 ruling, a panel from the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals affirmed previous decisions by two lower court judges, maintaining the legal standoff between the White House and the judiciary.

On March 14, Trump invoked the 1798 Enemy Alien Act, a law traditionally used during wartime, to deport hundreds of Venezuelans whom he accused of belonging to Tren de Aragua, a criminal organization that originated in Venezuelan prisons.

The centuries-old law grants the president the power to detain, restrict, and expel foreign nationals from a country engaged in a “declared war” or an “invasion or predatory incursion” against the United States, following a public proclamation.