Ukrainian Robots Take Russians Captive On Their Own
- 12.05.2026, 20:01
Ukraine is increasingly using robots to seize Russian positions.
A Ukrainian company developing ground combat robots has admitted that it did not expect to see the Russian military surrendering to their vehicles right on the battlefield.
This is about unmanned ground platforms (UGVs), which Ukraine is increasingly using on the frontline - to deliver supplies, evacuate the wounded, assaults, mines, fire support and even capture enemy positions.
Now another function has been added to this list - accepting the surrender of Russian soldiers, writes Business Insider (translation - "Unian").
Director of research and development at DevDroid Oleg Fedorishin said he was surprised when he saw reports that the Russian military had surrendered to one of the company's robots.
- Of course, I was a bit surprised," he admitted.
Fedorishin said that the use of robots in such situations allows to significantly reduce risks for the Ukrainian military. He noted that a soldier who formally surrenders may open fire or detonate a grenade at the last moment - Ukraine has recorded such cases before.
- If a robot approaches instead of fighters, in the worst case they will just destroy a piece of metal - and that's it, - the developer explained.
One of the most famous cases was an operation in January, when DevDroid published a video of a TW-7.62 robotic platform. The footage showed three Russian soldiers walking with their arms raised before lying down on the ground on command.
The company said at the time that the operation was risk-free for the Ukrainian fighters and that this is what modern warfare looks like today.
Fedorishin added that this was not an isolated incident.
-"This is not the only incident," he noted.
At the same time, Ukrainian units do not usually disclose full details of operations to manufacturers. The developer suggests that there were probably Ukrainian military personnel nearby, and aerial drones controlled the mission from above. However, it was the ground robot that minimized the threat to the personnel.