- The Central Research Institute of Ukraine has unveiled Marichka, a closed neural network intended to reduce brigade-level planning decisions from six to 12 hours to minutes
- The system calculates power balances, estimates losses and models action plans on an interactive map, but has so far only been tested on test data, with the integration of classified documents still pending.
- Marichka adds another layer to Ukraine’s technology stack for battlefield planning: the country already uses Delta for situational awareness and works with Palantir on several levels
The Central Research Institute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine presented Marichka, a closed neural network designed to reduce the operational planning cycle at the brigade level and beyond from a few hours to a few minutes.
The system, still in testing, is designed to collect and verify battlefield information, then calculate force ratios and estimate required resources and likely casualties, presenting commanders with options modeled on an interactive map. Military standards currently allow a regiment or brigade commander six to 12 hours and about 20 documents to get to the same point.
It can also alert command posts of changes in the operational situation as new information arrives. Col. Yurii Kliat, who heads the institute, was explicit about where authority stops, saying during the briefing that the final decision rests with the commander.
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A Battleground Layer Replacement for Palantir
Palantir was integrated into Ukrainian operations shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and it remains a mainstay in that theater, with a reach that dwarfs what Marichka is attempting.
Marichka is another important step. If it works as described, it would give Ukraine sovereign control over part of the reasoning layer that is currently owned by a foreign vendor, even though Palantir’s pipeline remains the most established presence in the country’s software-driven war effort.
According to Colonel Yurii Kliat, head of the Central Research Institute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Marichka centrally gathers battlefield information, automatically calculates the balance of forces and combat potentials, and estimates the necessary resources and probable losses.
The intent is to allow brigade and regimental commanders to make an informed decision in minutes, measured against a doctrinal standard that currently allows six to 12 hours and approximately 20 documents.
Ukraine already has the system that most fits the description of a homegrown Palantir: Delta, which has been providing situational awareness across the defense forces since 2022. Marichka is a proposed new layer on top of a stack that already includes Delta, Palantir’s fusion and analytics platforms, and, as of this year, a dedicated defense AI center. Whether it will integrate with Delta or operate separately has not been disclosed, and is arguably the most important open question regarding the program.
Brigadier General Andrii Lebedenko said at the Drone Autonomy 2026 conference in May that the armed forces have already begun integrating AI agents into command and control systems, which places Marichka within an existing effort rather than presenting it as a departure.
This is not Ukraine’s first attempt to establish an operational-level command system for headquarters. Dzvin was ordered from a contractor in 2016 and frozen in 2021 after prototypes encountered disputes over cost, timelines and product ownership.
Delta, developed alongside rather than as a replacement, succeeded in part because it grew out of a volunteer reconnaissance unit solving an immediate battlefield problem, rather than a procurement process.
Marichka comes from a research institute, which is again a different pedigree, and the toughest test will not be the neural network but the bureaucracy around the accreditation of classified data. This obstacle can be reinforced by the argument for incumbency: Palantir has a proven track record in war theaters, and its early work in Ukraine, largely free, has given it a first-mover advantage that a domestic prototype will have to overcome.
Via United24Media
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