Ukraine to give Britain battlefield data in AI deal

Ukraine will give Britain access to an AI dataset containing millions of battlefield images, the UK government said Monday, in a deal London said would help it protect military bases and other sites.

The dataset, known as "Avengers", is currently used to train autonomous Ukrainian drones.

Describing the data as a "goldmine", London said it could eventually use the dataset to "protect airports, prisons and even railways and energy plants", without elaborating.

Signed by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday, the deal offers Ukraine expertise from British researchers and universities in return.

The partnership will "bring together Ukraine's unrivalled operational experience with Britain's world-class AI ecosystem," Burnham said in a statement.

"We will accelerate the development of capabilities that not only strengthen our national security but better protect our critical infrastructure and growth in every postcode here at home," he added.

Ukrainian battlefield data from the Avengers AI dataset will soon be tested at a UK defence site to "protect bases from protestors and hostile actors trying to gain intelligence," the British press release said.

The deal came hours after London granted Kyiv blueprints to manufacture Storm Shadow missiles, a long-range weapon capable of hitting targets around 250 kilometres (around 150 miles) away.

The cutting-edge cruise missiles -- jointly developed with France, which calls them SCALPs -- have been supplied to Ukraine since 2023.

Britain is one of Ukraine's key backers, having supported it financially and militarily throughout the four-and-a-half-year Russian offensive.