Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Ukraine's army is definitely reaching the point of desperation. They are still coming up short in terms of recruiting, even after inviting prisoners to go fight on the front lines. There are constant shortages of equipment because Russian rockets and drones keep blowing up their gear. So the Ukrainians have had to get creative, and according to a recent report from NPR, they've been surprisingly successful. Using a surprising combination of Artificial Intelligence technology and low-cost, used hardware, they have been producing smaller, autonomous tanks and drones capable of carrying explosives and weapons to send against the Russians. The work is performed in disused sheds and basements to avoid detection by the Russians. 

Struggling with manpower shortages, overwhelming odds and uneven international assistance, Ukraine hopes to find a strategic edge against Russia in an abandoned warehouse or a factory basement.

An ecosystem of laboratories in hundreds of secret workshops is leveraging innovation to create a robot army that Ukraine hopes will kill Russian troops and save its own wounded soldiers and civilians.

Defense startups across Ukraine — about 250 according to industry estimates — are creating the killing machines at secret locations that typically look like rural car repair shops.

This Ukrainian army of killer robots keeps their own troops out of harm's way and they are building them at bargain basement prices. One inventor is currently turning out unmanned ground vehicles that he constructs in four days at a cost of just $35,000. The ground drones have a flat top like a table where weapons can be mounted or explosives can be staged. He uses off-the-shelf products like digital cameras to build the control system.

They are trying to enlist even more people to create their own killer robots, regardless of whether or not they have much technical expertise. Mykhailo Fedorov, the deputy prime minister for digital transformation has begun a campaign asking Ukrainian civilians to order remote control aerial drones and assemble them for use by the military. Relatively cheap drones are capable of lifting a useful payload, such as an explosive charge. They can be flown close to the ground to avoid having the Russians spot them until it's too late. 

Another startup company is working on somewhat more expensive projects including a motorized exoskeleton for soldiers. Other ground drones look more like large versions of a child's wagon and are used to haul equipment that the soldiers would otherwise need to carry, leaving their hands free for combat engagement. However, some analysts are raising concerns about the proliferation of essentially home-grown war machines. With Ukraine's military popularizing the concept, other people might start getting ideas into their heads, including domestic terrorists around the world. It's harder for civilians to get their hands on explosives, but it's not impossible. And once you have those and a sizable quadcopter with a camera installed, you can wreak all sorts of havoc. 

So will all of this be enough to turn the tide? The jury is out on that question. In the meantime, Putin is holding to his previous position of not shutting down the war unless the concessions he has demanded are made. And the Russians are gaining ground rather than losing it, so a resolution of some sort needs to be reached soon.