Ukraine’s killer robots show how war is changing |
For the first time, Ukraine has captured a Russian position using only ground robots and aerial drones, reports suggest. In a message posted on social media on April 14, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said: “The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side.”
Zelenskyy offered no further details about the operation, but this points to a serious shift in how such robots are used. They are increasingly being deployed in direct combat in war zones. What was once imagined as the future is now a reality.
Until recently, these ground robots were used mainly by the Ukrainian army in support roles, including resupplying frontline positions, evacuating wounded soldiers, and carrying out mining or demining operations in targeted areas.
However, there have been other reported uses of these robots (also known as an unmanned ground vehicles) in combat roles in the war between Russia and Ukraine. In January 2026, Ukrainian forces were reported to have captured three Russian soldiers in Zaporizhzhia using a single ground robot. Footage of the incident, which circulated online, showed the impact of facing a robotic system in combat written on the faces of the captured soldiers.
This has been going on for some time. In March 2025, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukrainian forces engaged Russian forces near Kharkiv using several ground robots equipped with machine guns. These were deployed from different positions and........