Kathrine Frich
Modern warfare is changing faster than ever.
What once required waves of soldiers and heavy artillery can now be achieved by a machine no bigger than a suitcase.
In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, one such robot forced Russian soldiers to do something no human opponent had managed to make them do: surrender.
A surrender like no other
After weeks of fierce fighting, a small group of Russian soldiers defending a fortified position found themselves facing a new kind of enemy, an unmanned ground drone packed with explosives.
Realizing they had no way to stop it, they pulled out a piece of cardboard and wrote four words: “We want to surrender.”
Ukrainian troops monitoring the battlefield through aerial drones saw the message clearly.
What followed became the first confirmed case of Russian soldiers being captured by a robot during the war.
Robots on the frontline
The June operation by Ukraine’s 3rd Assault Brigade marked a major shift in the war.
Ground drones, once used only for logistics, are now taking active roles in combat, carrying explosives, attacking fortifications, and even retrieving wounded soldiers.
Each machine can cost as little as $1,500, a fraction of the price of artillery systems. Commanders say they offer precision, speed, and most importantly, safety for human troops.
“For me, the best result is not that we took prisoners of war, but that we did not lose a single infantryman,” said Mikola, the 26-year-old commander of the brigade’s ground drone unit. “The days of counting operations in human lives are over for me. That’s why I operate robots.”
Turning the tide in Kharkiv
Weeks before the surrender, Ukrainian soldiers had tried and failed to recapture two fortified Russian positions.
Conventional assaults had led to heavy resistance. Then came the new plan, an attack led by ground drones carrying anti-tank mines, supported by aerial strike drones.
The drones advanced, detonating near the bunkers where Russian troops were hiding.
Faced with an unstoppable robotic assault, the defenders gave up before Ukrainian infantry even reached their lines.
No losses, no risks
When Ukrainian troops learned that the Russians had surrendered, they were stunned.
“The first time, to be honest, we couldn’t believe it; we thought it was a hoax,” one soldier recalled.
Commanders confirmed the news: there would be no need to storm the trenches the drones had done it for them.
The only remaining question was what to do with the last drone, still armed with explosives.
Recovering it risked a strike from Russian aerial drones, so Ukrainian troops detonated it safely in an empty field. Its mission was complete.
This article is made and published by Kathrine Frich, which may have used AI in the preparation
