Vyriy Drone founder Oleksii Babenko and Defence Builder board member Daria Yaniieva featured in Forbes “30 Under 30”

On 12 September, the Ukrainian edition of Forbes published this year’s “30 Under 30” list. For the sixth time, the magazine recognised young Ukrainians who have demonstrated exceptional courage, integrity, leadership and results in the military, business, creativity, sport and public life. Defender Media spotted two representatives of the defence tech sector, as well as several servicemen, among those featured.

One of them is 26-year-old Oleksii Babenko, founder of Vyriy Drone. His company is one of the largest FPV drone manufacturers in Ukraine. In March 2025, Vyriy Drone unveiled its first 1,000 drones made entirely from Ukrainian components. According to Forbes, the company’s revenue in 2024 reached ₴1 billion, and is expected to triple in 2025.

Also on the list is 28-year-old Daria Yaniieva – head of defence at Sigma Software Group, investment director at Sigma Software Labs, and a board member of the Defence Builder accelerator. Recently, the founders of Defence Builder announced that they were opening up opportunities for private individuals to co-invest in defence startups through syndicate deals.

The Ukrainian Forbes “30 Under 30” list also includes several members of the Armed Forces, some of them directly involved in defence technologies. Former National Bank analyst Oleksii Krymeniuk has built a military career, rising from a Territorial Defence psychologist to a battle captain at the tactical centre of the National Guard’s Khartia Brigade. Forbes reports that Krymeniuk helped develop the counter-offensive in Kharkiv region, including Khartia’s first robotic operation in autumn 2024.

Oleksii “Mutnyi” Vasyliuk, an officer in reconnaissance and planning at the 412th Nemesis Unmanned Systems Regiment, was recognised for forming one of the most effective combat units, credited with destroying more than 1,000 enemy targets.

Anna “Tsunami” Arkhypova, a reconnaissance drone unit commander in the 14th Separate Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Forces, which specialises in long-range strikes on Russia, also made the list. She was joined by several other Ukrainian Defence Forces servicemen and women.