Ukraine shifts AI policy to self-hosted models after U.S. restricts Anthropic access

Ukraine to pick AI models operated without provider control, official says

July 7 (Reuters) - Ukraine will favour AI systems it can run on its own servers, a senior ministry official said on Tuesday, as wartime Kyiv seeks to keep digital tools for government services, businesses and the military from depending on remote systems that providers can restrict or switch off. The approach favours self-hosted, or "on-premise," models that Ukraine can deploy on ⁠its own infrastructure, while limiting solutions that, by design, remain under the provider's control -- a category that includes Anthropic and OpenAI's main models. The policy was reinforced after the U.S. government ordered Anthropic to cut access to powerful models, echoing broader European sentiment, Roman Kyslyi, Chief AI Officer at Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, told Reuters. "It confirms that AI sovereignty isn't just a defensive talking point, it's a necessity," he said. Reuters reported on Tuesday, opens new tab that Chinese authorities are considering curbs on top AI models, which currently dominate the open-source market. Kyslyi said the decisive criterion is not about where the model is ⁠from. "If the vendor will provide it to run on our on-premise (infrastructure), there are no restrictions." "The model is essentially a commodity," Kyslyi said, adding that Ukraine would work with any provider whose technology could be deployed under Ukrainian control. Currently, Ukraine's AI assistant inside the Diia government app runs on Google's (GOOGL.O), opens new tab remote-only Gemini, accessed ⁠through servers within the European Union. Kyslyi said Google provided free tokens for it, meaning no budget spending. Still, Ukraine strips personal data before sending queries to Gemini because they "don't control those models," he said, describing Gemini ⁠as an "interim" solution. Ukraine is also developing its own model with Kyivstar (KYIV.O), opens new tab based on Google's Gemma, its open variant, due to be released in autumn and intended for use across government services, private ⁠enterprises and the military. Kyslyi said the ministry compared several open-source options before choosing Gemma, including Mistral models and OpenAI's GPT-OSS. Gemma and Mistral matched remote-only alternatives on many performance tests, he said. Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk, Editing by William Maclean Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab * Suggested Topics: * Artificial Intelligence * Data Privacy Leo Marchandon Thomson Reuters Leo's stories appear regularly on the technology and media desk, with a particular focus on France, Ukraine, and Europe's tech build up. He has reported extensively on major players across media & entertainment, artificial intelligence, and digital regulations. A background in tech-related law, Leo started his journalism career in Bordeaux, where he covered the full spectrum of the technology beat, from AI and spacetech to payment systems and regulations. He is now based in Gdansk, covering business, tech and entertainment news across Europe with Reuters. Gianluca Lo Nostro Thomson Reuters Gianluca's stories appear regularly on the business and technology section, with a particular focus on France and its efforts to compete with global rivals. He has reported extensively on connectivity and the geopolitics behind it in the war in Ukraine. A background in international studies, Gianluca started his journalism career in Milan and has covered French general and political news with Reuters in Paris.

Ukraine to Pick AI Models Operated Without Provider Control, Official Says

By Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro July 7 (Reuters) - ⁠Ukraine ⁠will favour AI systems it ⁠can run on its own servers, a senior ministry official said on Tuesday, as wartime Kyiv seeks to keep digital tools for government services, businesses and the military from depending on remote systems that providers can restrict or switch off. The approach favours self-hosted, or "on-premise," ⁠models that ⁠Ukraine can deploy on its own infrastructure, while limiting solutions that, by design, remain under the provider's control -- a category that includes Anthropic and OpenAI's main models. The policy was reinforced after the U.S. government ordered Anthropic to cut access to powerful models, echoing broader European sentiment, Roman Kyslyi, Chief AI Officer at Ukraine's Ministry of Digital ⁠Transformation, ⁠told Reuters. "It confirms that ⁠AI sovereignty isn't just a defensive talking point, it's a necessity," he said. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Chinese authorities are considering ⁠curbs on top AI models, which currently dominate the open-source market. Kyslyi said the decisive criterion is not about where the model is from. "If the vendor will provide it to run on our on-premise (infrastructure), there are no restrictions." "The model is essentially a commodity," ⁠Kyslyi said, adding that Ukraine would work with any provider whose technology could ⁠be deployed under Ukrainian control. Currently, Ukraine's AI assistant inside the Diia government app runs on Google's remote-only Gemini, accessed through servers within the European Union. Kyslyi said Google provided free tokens for it, meaning no budget spending. Still, Ukraine strips personal data before sending queries to Gemini because they "don't control those models," he said, describing Gemini as an "interim" solution. Ukraine is also developing its own model with Kyivstar based on Google's Gemma, its open variant, due to be ⁠released in autumn and intended for use across government services, private enterprises and the military. Kyslyi said the ministry compared several open-source options before choosing Gemma, including Mistral models and OpenAI's GPT-OSS. Gemma and Mistral matched remote-only alternatives on many performance tests, he said. (Reporting by Leo Marchandon and Gianluca Lo Nostro in Gdansk, Editing by William Maclean)

Ukraine to pick AI models operated without provider control, official says

Ukraine will favor AI systems run on its own servers for government services. This approach seeks to avoid dependence on remote systems that providers can restrict. The policy was reinforced after the US government ordered Anthropic to cut access. Ukraine is developing its own model with Kyivstar based on Google's Gemma. This model will be intended for use across government, business, and military. Ukraine will favour AI systems it can run on its own servers, a senior ministry official said on Tuesday, as wartime Kyiv seeks to keep digital tools for government services, businesses and the military from depending on remote systems that providers can restrict or switch off. The approach favours self-hosted, or "on-premise," models that ⁠Ukraine can ⁠deploy on its own infrastructure, while limiting solutions that, by design, remain under the provider's control - a category that includes Anthropic and OpenAI's main models. The policy was reinforced after the U.S. government ordered Anthropic to cut access to powerful models, echoing broader European sentiment, Roman Kyslyi, Chief AI Officer at Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation, told Reuters. "It confirms that AI sovereignty isn't just ⁠a defensive talking point, it's a necessity," he said. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Chinese authorities are considering curbs on top AI models, which currently ⁠dominate the open-source market. Kyslyi said the decisive criterion is not about where the model is from. "If the vendor will provide it to run on our on-premise (infrastructure), there are no restrictions." "The model is essentially a commodity," Kyslyi said, adding that Ukraine would work with any provider whose technology could be deployed under Ukrainian control. Currently, Ukraine's AI assistant inside the Diia government app runs on Google's remote-only Gemini, accessed through servers within the European Union. Kyslyi said Google provided free tokens for it, meaning no budget spending. Still, Ukraine strips personal data before sending queries to Gemini because ⁠they "don't control those models," he said, describing Gemini as an "interim" solution. Ukraine is also developing its own model with Kyivstar based on Google's Gemma, its open variant, due to be released in autumn and intended for use across government services, private enterprises and the military. Kyslyi said the ministry compared several open-source options before choosing Gemma, including Mistral models and OpenAI's GPT-OSS. Gemma and Mistral matched remote-only alternatives on many performance tests, he said.