Inside Defender Media: the Ukrainian platform reporting on the business of war

Today I wanted to share the story of a startup with a difference - a Ukrainian defencetech publication. Defender Media is a new online bilingual publication dedicated to Ukraine's defence, military and dual-use innovations. 

With the exception of agentic AI, defencetech is probably the sector attracting the most hype in Europe right now. Ukraine is actively fighting against Russia's invasion, but there's also the bigger story of Europe building its resiliency and changes to foreign policy under President Donald Trump. 

I spoke to founder Denys Smyrnov to learn more. 

I know Smyrnov well from his work with Sigma Software Group, which has been actively involved in developing Ukrainian defence tech for several years now. Sigma supports internal entrepreneurship and the initiatives of its colleagues, including the publication. 

Sigma Software's role in defence innovation

Sigma Software Labs operates as a venture lab, has made several investments, and co-founded the Defence Builder accelerator, which has already launched its second programme for startups. 

Daria Yaniieva, Head of Defence at Sigma Software Group and Chief Investment Officer at Sigma Software Labs, is increasingly involved in defence innovation events on both sides of the Atlantic. The company's talented engineers can be seen at specialised events, including defence tech hackathons.

From coding in wartime to launching a media platform

Living under the stress of invasion is not easy. Smyrnov started coding in October 2024 as a means of distraction and, coupled with his media and comms background, decided to create the website. He shared: 

 "The topic felt promising – the great war will not stop any time soon – so this industry will likely grow for years to come – but there was no specialised publication highlighting our achievements in the industry."

After creating the first version of the website, he pitched the idea to Roma Sudolsky, a leading Ukrainian journalist and former editor of Ukrainian Forbes, and Nik Zharov, a well-known blogger and former member of the Uniter24 Media team. They were hooked and became partners, and Defender Media launched in March this year. 

Smyrnov asserts that the Ukrainian defence tech industry quickly became "one of the fastest-growing industries in Ukraine and is absolutely critical to our country's survival."

It is now estimated to be worth at least $1 billion. According to the publicly available information on the Brave1 platform, over the three years of war, up to 1800 to 2000, new companies have emerged in Ukraine, producing drones, robots, electronic warfare, ground robotic systems and other innovative products. 

In 2024, investments in Ukrainian defence tech increased tenfold compared to the previous year (reaching more than $59 million). This figure has every chance of rising to $100 million this year. Brave1 alone, since its inception two years ago, has already awarded over 500 grants to Ukrainian innovators, totalling over $53 million.

Why Defender Media?

Defender Media aims to fill a gap in existing defencetech news by "giving Ukraine's defenсe tech ecosystem greater visibility – to help accelerate what's already working and try to fix what isn't.

"We also aim to support local startups in attracting investments and connecting with international partners."

According to Smyrnov, in Ukraine specifically, defencetech is mainly covered by tech media and military publications.

"For the IT media, this is just one of many topics, hence they have a broad focus and may lack the time and resources to fact-check, which is essential in this domain.

The latter have a better understanding of the topic but do not see it as a business and write about defence tech only in the context of war."

That's where Defender Media comes in. It's 100 per cent focused on defencetech and strongly focused on the business side of the industry.  

The publication also focuses on the business side of defence tech, and its interviews don't shy away from the industry's challenging aspects.  

For instance, Ukrainian innovator and former serviceman Yaroslav Sherstiuk has been building military software for over a decade and has struggled to receive investments. 

Defender decided to tell his story to help increase awareness of his product offering and funding opportunity. Following its publication, several people contacted the publication wanting to consult with Yaroslav and a foreigner who wanted to connect him to investors.  

Key features of Defender Media

Defender Media offers several recurring features:

• Dorozvidka: a weekly roundup of some key news and insights from publications in Ukrainian and global media 

Smyrnov explained: 

"Dorozvidka is what we read daily on our social media channels when there's an air alert. It means that the airspace is empty, there are no enemy objects in the air like shaheds, ballistic missiles, or rockets.

But the Ukrainian Defence Air Forces are still surveying the sky to ensure safety. The closest translation would be - follow-up reconnaissance?)

• Black Mirror: an overview of the main news in Russian military tech.
• The first dedicated calendar of defence tech events in Ukraine,tracking industry conferences, forums, demo days, startup pitch sessions, hackathons, meetups, etc.
• Defencetech vacancies.

According to Smyrnov, the biggest challenge in covering defence tech is the industry's complex structure and closed nature. This is also my experience; I've met many Ukrainian tech startups in stealth mode who don't even have websites.

"Further, there's so much going on, but often, you have no opportunity to share everything (especially when it comes to the war-torn country we live in).

We always have to triple-check the information and our sources. We also have to ensure that the information we cover doesn't harm Ukraine."

Ukraine defencetech startups to have on your radar

When asked which startups are currently on his radar, Smyrnov highlighted several promising Ukrainian ventures: 

• Buntar Aerospace: developing an electronic warfare invisible reconnaissance drone with an intelligent control system.

• Farsight Vision's products allow drone pilots and users of footage to interact using 3d models and orthoimages for analytics and situational awareness.
• Frontline develops and produces robotic systems for the frontline.

• HIMERA: creates  universal communication systems for use in civil and emergencies.
• The Fourth Law and Odd Systems by Ukrainian entrepreneur, Yaroslav Azhnyuk.
• Swarmer: developing AI technology to combine drones into a swarm.

Lead image: Defender Media. Photo: uncredited.