Ukraine captures a Russian position 'for the first time' using only drones and ground robots, but it is not the first time it has claimed so

Ukraine captures a Russian position ‘for the first time’ using only drones and ground robots, but it is not the first time it has claimed so

Volodymyr Zelensky announced this Monday in X what it describes as a historic milestone in modern warfarestating that Ukrainian forces, for the first time, successfully captured an enemy position using only unmanned systems. According to the President of Ukraine, the operation was carried out exclusively with ground robotic systems and drones, without direct participation of infantry units.

‘For the first time in the history of this waran enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned platforms, UGVs (Unmanned Land Vehicle) and drones. The occupiers surrendered and this operation was carried out without infantry participation and without casualties on our part.‘ says Zelensky.

Zelensky’s statement is contradicted by information that appeared last July in Ukrainian media, according to which the experimental drone unit Deus Ex Machinabelonging to the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, used only ground and air drones to attack a Russian position in the Kharkiv region and capture Russian soldiers.

‘For the first time in historythe occupiers capitulated to the ground robots of the 3rd Brigade. No infantry and no casualties‘, the brigade then stated on the social network Telegram. On that occasion, a kamikaze ground robot targeted a Russian defensive bunker and detonated, destroying the fortification. The Russian soldiers surrendered upon seeing another robot approaching their position and were escorted by FPV drones to the Ukrainian lines.

Zelensky has not gone into so much detail about what the new drone operation was like, but the nuance could be that the operation of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade took place after several attempts by the infantry to take the position, while the one he now refers to would have been carried out ‘exclusively’ with unmanned systems. Or you could simply search a propaganda effect.

In any case, Zelensky took advantage of the news to show part of Ukraine’s robotic arsenal, an industry that has experienced strong development in more than four years of war. The president has indicated that, in the last three months, Ukrainian ground robotic systems have carried out more than 22,000 missions with systems such as ‘Ratel’, ‘Termit’, ‘Ardal’, ‘Rys’, ‘Zmii’, ‘Protector’, ‘Volya’ and others.

‘In other words, lives were saved more than 22,000 timesa robot entered the most dangerous areas instead of a soldier. These are high technologies in defense of the highest value, human life,’ adds the president.

He has also addressed the Ukrainian defense industry in a video and has shown his gratitude to ‘everyone involved, in workshops, design offices, laboratories, testing fields and production and repair facilities, to everyone who works every day for Ukraine.’ Regarding drones, the president affirms that they can reach a distance of 1,750 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and that this figure will increase in the future. ‘It’s not about records, but about justice that reaches evil anywhere in the world,’ he says, adding that systems like ‘Sichen’, ‘Liutyi’, ‘Morok’, ‘Bars’, ‘Obriy’ and FP are proof of this.

Zelensky has praised other military capabilities of his army, stating that ‘Ukraine has its own long-range missiles. Not just in development, but as a real force already at work. Flamingo and Route, Peklo and Neptune, Palianytsia and Vilkha’.