Ukraine launches major assault using 28 ground robots in Donetsk

Ukrainian forces staged an assault against Russian frontline positions near Lyman in the Donetsk region using 28 unmanned ground vehicles, the Daily Mail reported. Reports describe the event as the largest visually recorded clash involving ground robots of the entire war. The operation was carried out by Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps against the Russian Armed Forces' 20th Combined Arms Army. [1]

Russian forces claimed to have repelled the advance, according to the Daily Mail. However, reports indicate concern that Ukraine is actively converting combat unmanned ground vehicles from basic support equipment into an independent strike force. Ukraine reportedly deployed two units fitted with Mk-19 automatic grenade launchers during the action. [1]

Unmanned ground vehicles operate while in contact with the ground without an onboard human presence. They can be operated autonomously using sensors or controlled remotely by a human operator through teleoperation. Military forces use these machines for applications where deploying human personnel is too dangerous, expensive, or impractical. [9]

Separately, Russian forces struck a train platform at the main railway station in Dnipro last week using a jet-powered drone, killing at least 15 people and wounding 14 others, the Washington Examiner reported. Ukrainian forces are currently rushing to develop defenses against these new jet-powered drones. Russia has relied for nearly five years on cheap Iranian-designed Shahed drones to strike Ukrainian cities night after night. [2]

The attacks occur amid ongoing strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. As FTMQ News reported earlier, previous Russian bombardment left 600,000 people without electricity, while frontline Ukrainian forces experienced speed restrictions on the Starlink satellite network. Earlier attacks also killed 24 people at an aid center in Komyshuvakha. [11][12]