Ukraine Becomes World Leader in Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Ukraine Becomes World Leader in Unmanned Ground Vehicles

Executive Summary:

• Russia’s war against Ukraine has transformed Ukraine into the world’s leading innovator in unmanned warfare, expanding from aerial and naval drones to large-scale production and battlefield deployment of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).
• Ukraine’s UGV ecosystem combines real combat experience, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)-standard certification, and a growing private defense sector, positioning Ukrainian engineers at the forefront of future global military technology.
• UGVs now perform surveillance, logistics, fire support, and self-detonating attacks in lethal frontline “kill zones,” reducing Ukrainian casualties and reshaping tactics through coordinated, multi-domain robotic warfare.
• Ukrainian UGVs are increasingly replacing infantry in high-risk missions, providing sustained firepower, engineering support, and resilience against electronic warfare, terrain challenges, and prolonged deployments where human soldiers would face extreme danger.
• UGVs are an essential tool for logistics, medevac, and emergency response. They enable the delivery of supplies, the evacuation of wounded, mine clearance, and civilian rescue.

Russia’s war against Ukraine has transformed Ukraine into the world’s leading defense innovator (see EDM, November 8, 2024, October 5, 2025). In 2023–2024, aerial and sea drones became central to Ukraine’s defense against Russian military aggression (see EDM, August 18, November 15, 2023, March 11, August 13, October 8, 2024). In 2025 and into this year, Ukraine has been launching and expanding the production and use of ground drones—Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs, often referred to as “robots”) (see EDM, October 25, 2025). Production will be scaled this year, lowering cost per unit. Ukraine plans to produce upwards of 20,000 units in 2026 (The New Voice of Ukraine, January 7).

In March 2025, United24 Media wrote, “Ukraine is among the global leaders in ground robotic systems. No other military has its level of real combat experience. Foreign tech solutions can be impressive, but the real test is battlefield performance, not theoretical capabilities” (United 24 Media, March 3, 2025). Lyuba Shipovich, a technical entrepreneur who returned to Ukraine from the United States to launch the Dignitas defense company, said, “Ukrainian engineers are creating the future of warfare, not just for Ukraine, but for the world” (Euromaidan News, August 19, 2025). As of April 2025, according to an expert at the Ukrainian government-backed defense company Brave1, 55 Ukrainian UGVs had been codified to NATO standards (The Telegraph, April 22, 2025).

UGVs are becoming an essential tool for Ukraine on the battlefield. “Oleksandr,” the commander of UGV complexes in the Antares Battalion of Ukraine’s Rubizh Brigade, pointed out, “This is no longer science fiction. It’s a tool of war” (Euromaidan Press, August 19, 2025). Major Robert Brovdi (“Magyar”), commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, predicted in 2024 that aerial drones and UGVs will eventually replace infantry (UNIAN, September 18, 2024).

In 2024, Brave1 investigated hundreds of UGV ideas and blueprints. Ukraine tested fifty of these on the frontline. In that same year, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense approved 330 models of unmanned systems, an increase from only 73 the year before (The Kyiv Independent, April 28, 2025).  Director of the Ministry of Defense’s procurement department, Hleb Kanevskyi, stated in 2025 that Ukraine was set to deploy 15,000 UGVs to the front and planned to increase their production (Ekonomichna Pravda, March 31, 2025). In the last year, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense began to integrate UGVs into military units. The ministry’s goal is to transform four drone battalions consisting of 700 troops into regiments with 2,500 troops, which would be supplied with aerial drones and UGVs. As of July 2025, 22 Ukrainian military units had been equipped with UGVs (ArmyInform, July 11, 2025).

UGV Innovation

Ukraine’s large and diverse private defense sector is contributing to technical innovation in UGVs (see EDM, November 8, 2024, October 5, 2025). Ninety-nine percent of UGVs are produced in Ukraine by 40 Ukrainian defense companies. These produce 200 UGV models, with an additional 40 appearing this year (The Economist, June 26, 2025). Companies such as Dignitas build, test, and adapt aerial drones and UGVs on the battlefield, quickly deliver them, and assist military units in integrating and training with this modern military technology (Kyiv Post, August 17, 2025; Euromaidan Press, August 19, 2025).

Western defense companies have begun jointly manufacturing Ukrainian aerial and sea drones and UGVs. German company ARX Robotics is building a large fleet of GEREON UGVs in Ukraine. The French company Alta Ares is building turbojet interceptor drones with the Ukrainian company Tenebris (Ukraine Business News, November 19, 2025).

Former Ukrainian Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov said in February 2025 that a modernized Ukrainian army at the cutting edge of innovation and technology would reduce casualties by giving dangerous tasks to aerial and sea drones and UGVs (The Kyiv Independent, February 5, 2025). Volodymyr Rovensky, an officer in the Ukrainian Department for the Development of Ground Control Systems for Unmanned Systems under the Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, discussed the need to “provide the army with robotic complexes that can replace the infantry” (Euromaidan Press, August 19, 2025).

UGVs on the Battlefield

The rise in use of aerial drones and UGVs is a product of the emergence of 5–30 mile “kill zones” at the frontline where both sides destroy military vehicles of any kind (The New Voice of Ukraine, January 7). UGVs are being used, and will increasingly be deployed, in “kill zones” for a wide variety of tasks. They can undertake surveillance, waiting to ambush Russian military vehicles and troops. In December 2024, soldiers from the 13th “Khartiia” Brigade of Ukraine’s National Guard used UGVs for the first time and successfully defeated Russian forces in a battle near the village of Lyptsi, Kharkiv oblast (United24 Media, February 7, 2025).

The Ukrainian military has coordinated attacks using aerial drones, large reconnaissance drones, kamikaze UGVs, and UGVs equipped with machine-gun turrets. United24 Media explains that the use of UGVs has been a test for officers to study “how well robotic platforms could withstand Russian electronic warfare (EW), navigate rough terrain, and seamlessly coordinate between operators and command centers” (United24 Media, July 3, 2025). According to “Shuhai,” a staff officer in the Ukrainian military, during one of these attacks, “The enemy was completely caught off guard … They were used to drone attacks, but suddenly, they were also being hit by ground platforms that exploded and fired at them. This was unprecedented. Based on intercepted communications, the enemy was in total panic” (United24 Media, July 3, 2025).

Some UGVs that are heavily laden with explosives are sent to self-destruct on fortifications and bunkers. The Ratel-S UGVs can transport 40 kilograms of explosives and are used as self-destructing ground drones that sneak under tanks and bridges to destroy them (Kyiv Post, October 24, 2023). Ukraine’s 63rd Mechanized Brigade was one of the first military units to launch a self-destructing UGV with explosives against a Russian defensive position (Telegram/@ombr_63, April 22, 2024). Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade sent a self-destructing UGV with 12 TM-62 anti-tank mines, which destroyed a unit of Russian soldiers in a building (Telegram/@NC_13company, January 7).

UGVs are increasingly being fitted with powerful PKT and KPM 7.62mm and 127mm Browning machine guns, grenade launchers, drone hunters, and surface-to-air projectiles for use as air defense against Russian planes and helicopters (United24 Media, June 26, 2025). The Liut UGV carries a 7.62 mm machine gun and was first used in the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk oblast in 2024–2025 (Militarnyi, March 18, 2025). The Burya robotic turret system features the U.S. MK-19 grenade launcher, which is fired remotely over a range of 160–320 feet (Euromaidan News, April 2, 2025). Incorporating multiple firing modes, the Burya uses 32–64 round ammunition.  Ukrainian company UArmor builds the Protector UGV, which integrates Tavria 12.7 remote-controlled turrets with a 12.7 mm Browning machine gun and a digital fire control system. Equivalently equipped with fire support to a military combat unit, the Protector UGV also conducts surveillance, detection, and target engagement (Euromaidan News, November 24, 2025).

Unlike humans, UGVs do not become tired, cold, scared, or need rotation after long deployments. A DevDroid TW 12.7 UGV, fitted with a remotely operated 12.7 mm Browning M2 machine gun, held a frontline position for 45 days. Capable of detecting Russian troops moving at night, it suppressed their assaults against its position (The New Voice of Ukraine, December 10, 2025; Ukrainska Pravda, January 7). In July 2025, Russian troops surrendered to an attack based solely on drones and UGVs fired by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade (Telegram/@ab3army; The Kyiv Independent, July 9, 2025). UGVs reduce Ukrainian casualties by being the first attackers and destroyers of Russian fortifications and bunkers. UGVs are doing the dirty, most dangerous work during an attack.

UGVs remain vulnerable to poor terrain and, similar to aerial drones, bad weather. “Shuhai” said that planning missions using UGVs and other types of drones means “greater attention must be given to communication systems and understanding” (United24 Media, July 3, 2025). This is because “ground drones require precise knowledge of the landscape” and “any pits, craters, or trenches can be dangerous for these robotic systems” (United24 Media, July 3, 2025).

Tracked UGVs are preferable for poor terrain. Wheeled UGVS have greater speed and are used in better terrain. The Ukrainian Alter Ego UGV is tasked with retrieving disabled cargo drones, damaged UGVs, and other types of high-value military equipment (Euromaidan News, December 2, 2025). The Lyashko UGV uses forks and nets to retrieve UGVs and other military technology (X/@Gerashchenko_en, December 2, 2025).

UGVs and Battlefield Logistics

The tasks UGVs have undertaken will continue to grow. Currently, nearly 50 percent of UGV usage is for logistics and evacuations. Fire support will become the growth area for UGV usage (United24 Media, September 4, 2025). UGVs are important for delivering supplies (e.g., food, water, petrol, medical supplies) to frontline units. It is no longer possible to supply these small military units by traditional road transportation because of the depth of “kill zones” at the frontline. The large Murakha (Ant) UGV is built for combat use and to deliver supplies up to half a ton to frontline units under artillery attack and in heavily mined areas. The Murakha can cross difficult terrain and cross water (The Kyiv Independent, June 29, 2025; Defender Media, October 27, 2025).

The Karakurt (Black Widow), developed by the Ukrainian company IRV, is the first heavy-duty UGV system capable of transporting large shipments over a range of up to six miles. As part of the Karakurt system, the Vepryk (Little Boar) UGV transports cargo, undertakes medevac, lays mines, and provides fire support, specializing in ambushing Russian troops. At a cost of only $50,000, less than the price of one U.S.-made javelin, the Karakurt system includes a ground control unit, two Vepryk carriers, and 12 FPVs (Euromaidan News, August 22, 2025).

UGVs also undertake engineering tasks, such as mine-laying and clearance. The Zmiy (Snake) UGV crawls at a low level and detonates mines, clearing paths for troops. The Murakha-Mini UGV, developed by the Ukrainian company Robotyzovani Systemy, can carry 500 pounds, has a range of 60 miles, and a maximum speed of 25 miles per hour. Murakha-Mini has been used to tow a six-meter gun carriage, supplies, and drones (Defender Media, October 27, 2025).

UGVs have also become helpful tools for medevacs and emergency services. Russian President Vladimir Putin has shown little interest in reducing his side’s casualties, which reached 1.2 million at the end of last year. Most Russian wounded are not evacuated and therefore die on the battlefield. Ukrainian casualties, however, are often evacuated from the battlefield (United24 Media, November 12, 2025).

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service is adopting a new approach to the use of UGVs during search and rescue operations in buildings attacked by Russian missiles and drones. Traditional medevac by helicopter, which NATO militaries continue to train with, is redundant in a war zone that has a 5–30 mile “kill zone” where the airspace is flooded with both sides’ aerial drones. Russia commits war crimes by attacking military ambulances and “hunt[ing] medevac vehicles with the enthusiasm of a national sport” (Euromaidan News, December 2, 2025). The French company Shark Robotics supplied 40 Colossus UGVs to the Ukrainian State Emergency Service, which enter burning and damaged buildings and act as shields for rescuers. Shark Robotics CEO Cyril Kabbava describes Colossus UGVs as increasing societal resilience to Russia’s onslaught against Ukrainian civilians (The Kyiv Independent, December 18, 2025).

UGVs used for medevac cannot use GPS, as Russia would jam it. UGVs have a steel armored capsule into which the wounded soldier crawls, protecting them from aerial drone attacks. In a recent example, a wounded soldier waited three days before being transported by a UGV (Ukrayinska Pravda, November 14, 2025). In another case, a UGV transported a wounded Ukrainian soldier on a 35-mile round trip over 3.5 hours. Despite a Russian FPV drone hitting the UGV, the wounded soldier was unharmed because of the armored capsule (Euromaidan News, December 29, 2025).

Ukraine’s defense sector is a leader in 21st-century military technology. Moscow’s war is forcing Russia to emulate Ukraine. Ukrainian UGVs and aerial drones that have broken down or malfunctioned are retrieved to prevent Ukrainian military technology from falling into Russian hands. These are maintained at frontline workshops within brigades that repair tracks, sensors, and electronics (Euromaidan News, January 1). Russia’s political regime maintains a moribund Soviet-style military-industrial complex that dissuades cutting-edge innovation of the type prevalent in Ukraine’s private defense sector. Ukraine’s dedication to battlefield innovation is giving it an edge to continue the fight.