A spectacular Ukrainian operation is a harbinger of a completely new kind of warfare.
April 24, 2026, 06:25April 24, 2026, 06:25
Sparing the lives of our own soldiers: A Ukrainian specialist calibrates a combat robot that has mounted a US-made 12.7 mm machine gun.Image: NurPhoto/Getty
For the first time in this war it was possible to take an enemy position without using our own soldiers. What was long just film material has become reality in Ukraine: Drones and unmanned ground vehicles no longer only take on logistical tasks – they now also carry out attack operations independently.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian soldiers surrendered in a section of the front “without Ukrainian infantry being involved.” The operation was “carried out without any losses on our side.” It is a turning point in a war increasingly dominated by machines and artificial intelligence.
The future is already on the front line – and Ukraine is building it. These are our ground robotic systems. For the first time in the history of this war, an enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned platforms – ground systems and drones. The occupants surrendered, and the… pic.twitter.com/qLQKfxPdiB
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 13, 2026
According to the news portal New Voice of Ukraine The attack is said to have taken place in the summer of 2025. The details of the operation show how far development has progressed.
In a sector of the front where Ukrainian infantry had previously failed twice, a unit of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) attacked. Several so-called kamikaze robots – each loaded with around 30 kilograms of explosives – deliberately destroyed the entrances to a Russian position.
A robot blew up the entrance to a shelter, a second blocked the exit. Surviving Russian soldiers signaled their surrender by holding a handwritten message to the drone cameras. The prisoners were then led by drones to Ukrainian lines. It wasn’t until around 20 minutes later that the Ukrainian infantry moved in – without firing a single shot.
For Selenski, the benefit is clear: in the past three months, unmanned systems have completed more than 22,000 missions. “In other words: lives were saved 22,000 times.” Its commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Sirski, says that in March of this year there were already 50 percent more Ukrainian robots deployed at the front compared to the previous month – and the number will continue to rise.
Robots take over the “gray area”
The Austrian military expert Markus Reisner sees this as a fundamental development. “We see that it works with the intention of countering the Russian superiority of soldiers through drones and, above all, through robots,” says the army colonel on ZDF.
Machines are taking on more and more tasks, particularly in the so-called gray zone between the fronts. According to Reisner, around “90 percent of logistics tasks” in Ukraine are already carried out by robots. Especially where every movement is detected immediately, unmanned systems have an advantage: “Every movement is detected by drones and counteracted by drones.”
Decisive combination: A robotic vehicle called a “Pavuk” (spider) serves as a drone carrier.Image: NurPhoto/Getty
The battlefield has fundamentally changed as a result. Classic front lines with clear positions hardly existed anymore. Instead, a space monitored by sensors and drones dominates. “The sky is alive,” Reisner quotes Ukrainian officers – a metaphor for the omnipresent threat from the air.
The combination of different systems is crucial. Reconnaissance drones identify targets, combat drones attack, while ground robots place explosive charges or block entrances. «These armed land systems in combination with drones […] then lead to exactly the same results that we have now seen,” says Reisner.
The next steps are already foreseeable. Ukrainian units are working to make fully robotic attacks the norm, coordinated by artificial intelligence. In the future, infantry should only move in to secure captured positions. “The purpose is to take as much burden as possible off the infantry,” explained a commander of a Ukrainian brigade.
Russia is actively involved in the race for innovation
However, Ukraine’s technological lead is not permanent. “We see a game of cat and mouse here,” says Reisner. Russian armed forces consistently tried to copy Ukrainian innovations and use them on a larger scale.
Colonel Markus Reisner demonstrates the use of a drone with an anti-tank grenade.Image: Bianca Otero/Imago
The war is developing into a permanent race for innovation. “Many people don’t even realize it, […] But we see crucially that the way war will be waged in the future will be determined by unmanned systems.”
It’s not just about technology, but also about resources. For Ukraine, which is understaffed, robots are a means of compensation. It is easier and cheaper to sacrifice a “robot compared to a soldier who has been trained for years,” says Reisner.
The use of such remote-controlled vehicles will soon be seen in “all units of Western armies,” adds former NATO commander Erhard Bühler in his podcast “What to do, Mr. General.”
Despite spectacular individual successes, one limitation remains: conquering terrain is one thing, holding it is another. This still requires soldiers made of flesh and blood. The robot attack that has now become known nevertheless marks a turning point.
What was previously considered a supplement to classic warfare is developing into an independent principle. The front in Ukraine is becoming a laboratory for a new type of war. Or, as Reisner puts it: “The Ukraine war is a key example of how the way wars are fought is changing.” (aargauerzeitung.ch)