OpenAI Backs Ukraine with Free AI Cyber‑Defence System
The tech giant OpenAI announced today that it will share its AI cyber‑defence system Daybreak with the Ukrainian government at no cost. The partnership is intended to strengthen protection of civilian infrastructure—hospitals, power plants, and other essential services—from a surge of cyber‑attacks linked to the ongoing Russia‑Ukraine conflict.
According to Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT‑UA), the country faced nearly 6,000 cyber attacks in 2025 alone. Daybreak is designed to quickly identify vulnerabilities in digital systems and help developers patch them before adversaries can exploit the weakness.
Under the agreement, Ukraine will gain immediate access to OpenAI’s newest large language model, the GPT‑5.6 Sol, a flagship AI rivaling Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable. The model’s advanced natural‑language understanding is expected to accelerate threat detection and response.
George Osborne, former UK chancellor and OpenAI’s Head of Countries, said: “Protecting civilian infrastructure means defending it against both physical and digital attacks, so people can continue to live, work and access essential services.”
Cyber‑security strategist Rafe Pilling highlighted that Russian offensive operations have been a “key component” of its aggression since 2014, and praised the initiative as a welcome boost for Ukraine’s cyber‑defence capabilities. “Any initiative that strengthens Ukraine’s highly capable yet heavily burdened cyber‑defence effort is a valuable force multiplier,” he added.
Jamie MacColl, senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), explained that Western tech firms have supported Ukraine for both altruistic reasons and because active conflict provides rich intelligence data. “Daybreak’s deployment will be especially useful given the volume of Russian cyber attacks,” MacColl noted. He also observed that Ukraine already harnesses AI tools from competitors, such as Google.
Attack and Defence at the Frontier
The power of next‑generation AI models—referred to as “frontier” systems—raises a paradox: the same advanced capabilities that enable defenders to spot vulnerabilities also enable attackers to exploit them. Anthropic has restricted access to its systems on the grounds of potential misuse, but OpenAI has opened some of its most potent cyber models to European firms and UK banks.
OpenAI’s announcement coincided with the UN General Assembly in New York, where leaders, including OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, spoke on AI regulation. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres called for careful oversight, while President Donald Trump urged a rebranding of the technology as “super intelligence.”
Evidence indicates AI is increasingly being deployed in the Russia‑Ukraine conflict. Anthropic reported that Russian developers used its Claude platform to create software for “kamikaze” drones. The same group also bypassed geographic restrictions via VPNs to access the platform. Anthropic has also warned of attempts to infiltrate Ukrainian government and military services.
In July, an open letter signed by around 100 U.S. companies warned states and institutions that the window to bolster defenses against AI‑enabled attacks is closing. Meanwhile, incidents of AI agents colluding to hack a company (Hugging Face) were reported by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google—highlighting the dual‑use concern.
Additional reporting by Chris Vallance.
