Ukraine’s first all-robot offensive destroys Russian frontline unit using machine-gun mounted vehicles packed with explosives, 50 drones… and no infantry

Ukraine has revealed how it destroyed a Russian frontline position without a single soldier being on the ground, thanks to an all-robot offensive. 

The attack on a Russian position north of the embattled Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, saw the nation’s 13th National Guard Brigade Khartiya launch around 50 unmanned aerial vehicles. 

The five-hour attack, believed to be the first of its kind, left several Russian corpses in its wake, and has now lead to other Ukrainian units planning similar missions. 

Lt. Andriy Kopach, who specialises in land drones, told the Wall Street Journal that as the early morning assault began, Ukrainian troops knelt in deep snow to release five unmanned ground vehicles at different spots several miles from the front-line to prevent crossing signals and confusing the robots. 

These five ground vehicles were mounted with massive machine guns and ammunition belts. 

Video footage showed the ground vehicles traipsing across snow-covered land near Kharkiv. They were assisted by a swarm of first-person-view (FPV) drones, including one mounted with an assault rifle and many that dropped explosives, as they approached enemy lines. 

All of this was coordinated from a command post near the frontline. 

Video footage showed several Ukrainian soldiers sitting in a command post in front of dozens of screens, on which real-time battle information was relayed to them from the swarm of land and air drones at their disposal. 

One clip appeared to show a mobile land drone driving towards a Russian bunker during the battle and detonating itself.  

The Khartiya brigade also revealed it was working on several more specialist land drones, including a mine-planter and what appears to be a mounted and modified claymore-carrier.

On the front of the apparent claymore-carrying drone reads ‘к противнику’ – Russian for ‘to the enemy’, a close translation of the famous phrase on the mines: ‘FRONT TOWARD ENEMY.’ 

Kopach told the newspaper that the attack was an experiment for a potential path to future wars where no human beings have to be on the ground. 

‘It gave us understanding on how we needed to modify the drones,’ he said, adding that they needed to improve the suspension systems.  

He added that international companies and governments have also reached out to discuss the December attack, which he said highlighted its significance. 

‘Then I was thinking, yes, it was really massive, really special,’ he said. ‘It was the first step of the new war.’ 

It comes as Russia and Ukraine accused each other on Wednesday of violating a new agreement to refrain from attacks on energy targets, with scores of drone strikes launched hours after US President Donald Trump spoke by phone to Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

In the phone call between the U.S. and Russian leaders on Tuesday, Putin rejected a proposed full 30-day ceasefire, which had been sought by Trump and previously accepted by Ukraine.

Putin said he would agree only to pause attacks on energy infrastructure, a proposal that was swiftly accepted by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who nevertheless denounced Moscow for rejecting a more comprehensive truce.

But even that narrow pause appeared in doubt on Wednesday. Moscow said Ukraine hit an oil pumping station in southern Russia, while Kyiv said Russia had struck hospitals and homes, and knocked out power to some of its railways.

Zelensky said on Wednesday that the continued attacks showed Moscow’s words were not aligned with its actions, and that Russia was still not ready for peace. He said the United States should be put in charge of monitoring any ceasefire.

‘If the Russians will not strike our facilities, then we will definitely not strike theirs,’ he said at a briefing in Helsinki alongside the president of Finland.