Relentless human hunting is becoming a reality in Russia’s war. It is not just about the eastern cities that border Russia but also settlements in the west of Ukraine, warns Ukrainian public figure and head of the Center for Aerial Reconnaissance Support, Maria Berlinska.

“Everyone is afraid of Shaheds and missile strikes right now. But Shaheds and missiles strike specific coordinates. There’s something far more dangerous, thousands of drones above cities, operating in a constant hunting mode,” she says.

Berlinska warns that this will become our reality as early as 2026. It will affect not only Sumy, Dnipro, and Kharkiv but also Lviv and Chernivtsi.

“Thousands of killer drones that will be hunting humans 24/7. I know it sounds like a dystopian horror film but this is our reality, as I see it, already next year,” believes Berlinska. 

She believes countermeasures exist: automatic turrets, anti-aircraft drones, electromagnetic, and laser-based systems. Berlinska urges both central and local authorities to start seeking solutions now.

The expert also admits that very few are seriously preparing for this threat.

Berlinska reminds that 2026 is only six months away and calls on Ukrainians to ask: who will be held responsible when people in Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and other cities are forced to live on the run and in basements, under constant threat from Russian drones?

Earlier, she noted that by the end of May 2025, Ukraine had entered a stage where it was increasingly falling behind Russia in the tech race. While parity remains in some areas, Russia is gaining the upper hand overall.

The Russians have built a national policy, mobilized tens of thousands of top engineers into the military-industrial architecture, brought in hundreds of engineering teams from partners such as China, North Korea, and Belarus, and poured hundreds of billions of dollars into R&D and components.