Ukrainian forces have captured a Russian position using only armed robots and drones, marking a rapid shift toward automated combat that reduces human casualties
President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed earlier this week that Putin’s soldiers had surrendered without any Ukrainian soldiers being put in danger.
‘For the first time in the history of this war, an enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned systems – ground systems and drones,’ he said in a speech marking Ukrainian Gunsmith Day.
‘The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side.’
These unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) are used on the battlefield for assault operations, to evacuate wounded troops and to detect and neutralise mines.
Zelensky said over 22,000 missions have been carried out over the last three months using robot systems with more than 280 companies rapidly developing these units.
‘In other words, lives were saved more than 22,000 times when a robot went into the most dangerous areas instead of a warrior. This is about high technology protecting the highest value – human life,’ he added.
Ukraine is aiming to produce more than 20,000 of the ground robots this year, with 99 per cent domestically made.
Each robot can cost anywhere from £7,500 to £22,000, according to The Telegraph, and have a range of up to 31 miles.
One robot, known as DevDroid TW 12.7, is no bigger than a ride-on lawnmower but is armed with a .50-calibre M2 Browning machine gun.
It can be operated remotely from up to 15 miles away or navigate terrain using artificial intelligence.
In December, a DevDroid armed with a heavy machine gun held off repeated Russian attacks on the eastern front for 45 days without a single soldier at the position.
Russian troops were pinned down by relentless gunfire, believing they were facing multiple Ukrainian fighters. Even under the cover of fog and bad weather, they could not break through.
Its commander said the machine defended positions that would normally require up to six soldiers, allowing Ukrainian troops to stay out of harm’s way.
‘The enemy conducted daily offensive pressure on forward positions,’ said Mykola ‘Makar’ Zinkevych, the NC-13 Strike Company’s commander at the time.
The NC-13 Strike Company is a unit within the Third Army Corps that specialises in uncrewed ground vehicles, or UGVs.
‘Until the very end, the enemy was unable to determine that an unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) with a combat module was present at the position.’
The drone briefly left its post every two days for maintenance and ammunition resupply by a crew stationed around 2.4 miles from the front line.
Each session took around four hours and included servicing the weapons, restocking ammunition, and recharging the drone’s battery.
Videos of the drone in action show it moving across rugged terrain and firing multiple quick-fire shots towards Russian position.
And in January, extraordinary footage emerged showing multiple Russian soldiers surrendering to an armed Ukrainian Droid TW-7.62 combat robot.
The video shows three Russian troops dressed in white military gear lying on the ground while a robot advances towards them, forcing the soldiers to stand up.
The Russians cautiously walk toward the machine – one of them covered in blood – as they lift their hands in the air to surrender.
The terrified fighters then lie back down on the snowy ground as they submit to the Ukrainian weapon.
The drone was mounted on a NUMO platform and was fitted with a remotely operated 7.62mm machine gun turret.
In March last year, Ukraine destroyed a Russian frontline position without a single soldier being on the ground, thanks to an all-robot offensive.
The attack on a Russian position north of the embattled Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, saw the nation’s 13th National Guard Brigade Khartiya launch around 50 unmanned aerial vehicles.
The five-hour attack, believed to be the first of its kind, left several Russian corpses in its wake.
Commander Zinkevych explained in January that the NC-13 Strike Company, founded in September 2025, was concentrating this year on the ‘maximum involvement’ and broader deployment of UGVs in both defensive and offensive operations.
Other versions of the drone have recently been approved for use on the front lines, including two vehicles equipped with grenade launchers.
‘The demand for these systems is high,’ he said. ‘Robots do not bleed.’
Meanwhile last week, chilling footage showed a Ukrainian drone brigade killing 8,000 Russian troops in a single month, as the war in the region rages on.
Russia’s hardline foreign minister subsequently issued a surprise statement that ‘the prospect of a political and diplomatic settlement is on the horizon.’
Vladimir Putin’s 76-year-old top diplomat laced this with his usual invective against the West – in particular the EU – but appeared to concede that an end to the bloody four year conflict could be in sight.
At the same time, Ukraine’s top negotiator Lt-Gen Kyrylo Budanov, 40, made clear Russia is shifting its stance.
‘They all understand the war needs to end. That’s why they are negotiating,’ he told Bloomberg, ‘I don’t think it will be long.’
