The Chief of Staff of the Army, General of Army Corps Carmine Masiello, led an Italian delegation on September 8 and 9 on a visit to Ukrainian Land Forces.

Drones, electronic warfare, artillery, mechanized units and new combat tactics were at the center of the meetings.

But Masiello's visit takes on even greater significance when placed in a broader context. Within a few weeks, in fact, Ukraine has simultaneously entered Italian military transformation, technological innovation and industrial strategy processes.

The appointment of former Ukrainian minister Mykhailo Fedorov as Advisor for Italian Defense Innovation and Leonardo's growing investment in the Ukrainian technological ecosystem indicate an increasingly evident convergence: the experience gained by Kyiv over more than four years of war is being observed by Italy not only as operational experience, but also as a source of innovation to be transferred to its own Armed Forces and defense industry.

Masiello studies the lessons from the front directly

According to official communications from the Land Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, during the visit the Italian delegation examined the experience gained in the use of mechanized units, artillery and unmanned systems.

The delegation also visited a training facility of the Ukrainian Land Forces.

During the bilateral meeting, the evolution of tactics in modern warfare, the growing role of unmanned systems and the increasing importance of electronic warfare were analyzed.

Particularly significant is the position attributed to Masiello by the Ukrainian source itself: the Chief of Staff of the Army emphasized that Ukraine's combat experience is of great importance for the modernization of Italian Land Forces.

A statement that allows reading the visit not as a simple institutional meeting, but as part of the transformation process of the Italian Army.

Fedorov advisor to Italian Defense

A few weeks earlier, another important signal had arrived.

Mykhailo Fedorov, already a Ukrainian minister and among the figures most associated with the technological transformation of Kyiv's military machine, became Advisor for Italian Defense Innovation.

The appointment was supported by Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and officially confirmed by the Ministry.

The comparison with Fedorov concerns in particular drones, autonomous systems, air defense and technological innovation applied to defense.

Undersecretary for Defense Matteo Perego described the collaboration as an opportunity to transfer experiences gained in the field into the Italian system, connecting Defense, research and industry.

It is exactly the same principle that emerges from Masiello's visit: observe what is working in a real conflict, understand its implications and accelerate its possible integration into Italian capabilities.

Leonardo puts down roots in Kyiv

The third element concerns industry directly.

Leonardo established Leonardo Ukraine, a company controlled by the Italian group and based in Kyiv.

The company had already been registered on May 20, 2026, but in recent weeks the role it could have within the group's strategy has become clearer.

It would not be simply a commercial presence.

Leonardo Ukraine will allow the group to enter directly into the technological and industrial ecosystem developed during the war, identifying technologies, possible industrial partners, investments and cooperation programs.

According to what has emerged in recent weeks, the prospects also include programs for joint development and production, while the subsidiary will be able to evaluate partnerships and even possible acquisitions in the country.

At the center of interest are once again the same sectors: drones, electronic warfare, sensors, artificial intelligence and air defense.

Exactly the capabilities on which the Army delegation's visit also focused.

Three levels of the same transformation

It is precisely this overlap that makes the sequence of events particularly significant.

On the military level, Masiello brings the Italian Army to directly confront the lessons from Ukrainian operations.

On the technological and institutional level, Fedorov enters the Italian Defense system as Advisor for Innovation.

On the industrial level, Leonardo builds a permanent presence in Kyiv with the aim of intercepting technologies and possible collaborations with the Ukrainian sector.

Three different and autonomous initiatives, but converging toward the same point.

Ukraine as a laboratory for contemporary warfare

War has forced Ukraine to dramatically compress the normal timelines of military innovation.

A system developed today can be tested at the front, modified based on operators' experience and returned to production in times that would hardly be possible in traditional Western acquisition cycles.

FPV drones, jamming-resistant navigation, electronic warfare, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, distributed sensors and anti-drone capabilities are continuously modified based on real experience.

It is this wealth of knowledge that is increasingly interesting to Italy as well.

It does not mean automatically transforming the Ukrainian model into the Italian one. Operational, industrial and strategic needs are different.

It does mean, however, using Ukraine as a privileged source of lessons learned, seeking to reduce the distance between what happens on the battlefield and what is developed, purchased and trained by the Armed Forces.

Kyiv increasingly strategic for Italy

Masiello's visit, the mandate given to Fedorov and Leonardo's expansion in Ukraine thus make it possible to glimpse a broader trend.

Kyiv is taking on increasing importance in the transformation of Italian Defense.

Not only as a country militarily supported by Italy, but as an interlocutor from which to acquire experience, technologies and knowledge developed in real operational conditions.

Ukraine thus becomes simultaneously military partner, technological laboratory and possible industrial partner.

For Italy, the strategic value of Kyiv could thus go well beyond the duration of the current conflict: the lessons learned on the Ukrainian front are already beginning to influence the way the Army thinks about future war and the way the national industry prepares to build its tools.