The Economist: Ukraine Is Gradually Approaching A Robot War With Robots

• 26.06.2025, 17:39

The AFU has so far managed to stay ahead of Russia in this area.

The 3rd Assault Brigade is stress-testing ground drones (UGVs), which Ukraine hopes to shift some of the military burden from humans directly.

UGVs are already operating on the front lines, and the 3rd OshBr is one of the pioneers of this trend. So far, there aren't many, but that could soon change: in the spring, Ukraine announced plans to deploy 15,000 ground robots, writes The Economist.

Some industry participants predict that the face of the battlefield will change rapidly as soon as this summer - just as it did with the mass production of UAVs in 2023.

"We don't have the manpower to contain the Russian 'meat wave'. So we will send our 'zombies' against their zombies," says one robot manufacturer. At the moment, about 40 mostly private Ukrainian companies are reportedly producing about 200 models of UGVs. They are roughly divided into three types:

logistical (fuel, water, evacuation),

engineering (mine laying and mine clearing, communications),

and, to a lesser extent, combat (grenade launcher platforms, drone hunting turrets).

Most of the machines are enhanced before they are sent to the front: cameras, additional communications or electronic warfare protection.

Stark, head of the UGV Academy at Murder House (a so-called "university for ground robots"), says the machines are already replacing entire groups of soldiers in certain situations.