Meet the Tech Nerd Talking Stubborn Ukrainian Commanders Into Using More Ground Robots

Lyuba Shipovich makes a compelling argument to a manpower-starved army

This is a special one, folks—a dispatch from the front line in Ukraine by roving war correspondent David Kirichenko. Support David’s dangerous work by subscribing to Trench Art. The revenue from all subs to this story go straight to David.

Lyuba Shipovich, CEO of Dignitas, speaking at a ground robotics event held by the Ukrainian military in July 2025. David Kirichenko photo

by DAVID KIRICHENKO

Lyuba Shipovich, a software engineer and entrepreneur, was running a tech company in New York City when Russia widened its war on Ukraine in February 2022.

Shipovich returned home to join the resistance. In 2023, she founded Dignitas, a nonprofit dedicated to training soldiers and integrating cutting-edge technologies with Ukraine’s military operations.

Shipovich spearheaded Victory Drones, which helped drone operators scale up their activities across Ukraine’s armed forces. Now, she’s turning her focus to ground robotics—working to ensure Ukraine’s military can deploy unmanned ground systems across the front line.

Their latest initiative is Victory Robots. “It’s all about giving Ukraine every possible advantage to win—while protecting lives and reducing human losses,” the team wrote in a June social media post.