Oleg Vornik fled Russia as a teen when his homeland took an authoritarian turn. Now he is helping Ukraine defend itself against Putin’s army.
For a guy on Vladimir Putin’s naughty list, Oleg Vornik remains sanguine about his personal safety.because of his role as chief executive of DroneShield, an Australian-based supplier of counter-drone technology to Ukraine’s military.Rohan Thomson, you’d probably be a little more alarmed,” Vornik says as we pick at the sushi in the safe confines of Canberra Japanese restaurant RAKU.
Vornik has had a chance to peruse the menu before I arrive. Our waitress suggests three maki rolls per person, so we order six to share. Systems can be mounted on buildings and vehicles but the company’s most popular product is the DroneGun, which can “fire” signals directly at drones. Customers include militaries, police, prisons, airports and stadiums.
The fresh maki rolls – each cut into six pieces for sharing – arrive with little delay. While all are tasty, the hero is the dragon roll, with a prawn tempura and avocado filling and thin slices of seared Wagyu tenderloin wrapped around the outside. As Putin began his rise in Moscow, Vornik’s mother, Elena , decided in 1997 to get out of Russia because of the authoritarian turn it was taking.
Maths proved to be his salvation – ironically given a head start by the strict Russian education system. Vornik became a member of the Maths Olympiad team in high school and while he harboured ambitions to become an engineer, went on to study maths at Canterbury University.
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