All-robot amphibious landings, air assaults, engineering operations, and resupply are increasingly commonplace in Russia's wider war on Ukraine, now in its 57th month. They're especially common on the Ukrainian side as Kyiv rushes to reinforce its manpower-starved armed forces with unmanned systems of all kinds.

One recent all-robot assault carried out by the Ukrainian 3rd Assault Brigade on or just before 30 October stood out, however. It was the biggest confirmed attack by unmanned ground vehicles so far in the wider war: no fewer than 28 UGVs of all kinds rolled across the gray zone near the village of Druzheliubivka in northern Ukraine's Kharkiv Oblast.

It seems the Russians spotted the assault from far away and swiftly defeated it, mostly by sending in explosive first-person-view drones. But it could be a temporary win. UGVs are cheap, some costing a few tens of thousands of dollars, and Ukraine is building a lot of them. Former Ukrainian defense minister Mykhailo Fedorov claimed Ukraine would acquire 25,000 UGVs in just the first six months of 2026. The figure for the rest of the year is likely to be as high or higher.

Those 28 Ukrainian UGVs may have failed to breach Russian positions. The next 28 might succeed.

The daylight all-robot ground assault, which came around two years after the first-ever all-robot ground assault and four months after the first all-robot amphibious landing and air assault (all carried out by the Ukrainians), reportedly involved eight self-exploding UGVs plus another 20 UGVs with handheld weapons: 18 with pairs of single-round grenade launchers and two with automatic grenade launchers firing more but smaller rounds.

The Russians posted a video montage depicting FPV attacks on the approaching Ukrainian UGVs. If any of the Ukrainian robots got close enough to Russian positions to directly engage, it's not apparent from the video.

Russian military channels claim that Russian FPV drone operators repelled an attempted Ukrainian ground robotic systems assault involving 28 unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).

According to these reports, the Ukrainian force consisted of eight kamikaze ground robots, two platforms… pic.twitter.com/q3FIYj1NYY

— Drone Wars (@Drone_Wars_) November 5, 2026

The Ukrainian plan seemingly failed. But that doesn't mean it was an unsound plan. Examples abound of recent, but smaller, all-robot or robot-led ground operations. Aerial drones and ground robots led the way in the Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps' successful Operation Vivaldi counteroffensive, which ejected a pair of Russian field armies from a critical sector of eastern Ukraine's northern Donetsk Oblast starting in March.

For Operation Vivaldi, the 3rd Army Corps deployed mine-clearing ground robots and remote-controlled BTR-60 armored personnel carriers converted into powerful rolling bombs. Even more dramatically, the corps and its supporting drone units organized all-robot air assaults. Heavy octocopter bomber drones carried armed UGVs across the gray zone and deposited them right in front of or right behind Russian positions.

Precious manpower

Operation Vivaldi's robot operations succeeded where the recent 28-UGV assault apparently failed. The occasional defeat belies the frequent victories. In any event, Ukrainian forces are going all-in on robots because they have no other choice. Short tens of thousands of trained infantry, the Ukrainian ground forces struggle to fully man all 150 of their line brigades.

Robots are the obvious solution. “Fighting against a much bigger power, Ukraine throughout the war has needed to leverage technology to be able to fight back and take the fight to Russia,” war correspondent David Kirichenko told Euromaidan Press.

But replacing people with robots is easier said than done. The robot itself is just the visible part of a complex system. The radio networks and other systems connecting the robots to their distant operators are just as important as the robots themselves.

Every control system the Ukrainians use has advantages and disadvantages. The wireless systems, including satellite, line-of-sight, and mesh radios, are subject to Russian jamming and, in the case of Starlink and Starshield, also subject to throttling by trillionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX. It's possible to connect a UGV to its operator via a kilometers-long spool of optical fiber, but the fiber tends to get caught on trees and rocks and break.

Given how fragile any single system can be, the Ukrainians have learned to install multiple command systems on every UGV. Backups for the backups. When you see 28 armed robots roll into battle, the machines aren't the impressive part. The command systems are what matter most.

It's Ukraine's mastery of these command systems that guarantees more all-robot assaults are coming.

Ukrainian company Robotic Complexes is developing CASEEVAK, an armored module that lets the Murakha unmanned ground vehicle carry wounded soldiers off the battlefield, the company told Militarnyi on 28 October. The casualty rides in a closed capsule with ventilation, heating, lighting, and a first-aid kit, and side and rear doors let medics load and reach the soldier from any side.

Drones that can fly long distances pose a threat to both wounded soldiers and the crews evacuating them, making transportation the main challenge, said Ukrainian military medic Daryna Boiko, The Independent reported. Developers are looking for new ways to counter this threat. The current Murakha model is being equipped with passive anti-drone protection elements, the developers say.

An armored capsule that keeps the wounded connected

After a wounded soldier is loaded onto an evacuation platform, it is important not only to transport them to a safe location but also to protect them and monitor their condition during transit.

The module is built around a closed armored capsule made of 3.5 mm-thick Armox 500T steel with an inner lining of HDPE 1000, the media outlet reports. Side and rear doors allow the wounded to be loaded from different directions and accessed during evacuation.

To enable the operator to monitor the person inside and maintain contact with them, the capsule is equipped with a camera with day and night channels and two-way audio communication. The system can be controlled via ELRS, LTE, Starlink, or fiber-optic communications. Militarnyi reports that even if the capsule is detached from the main platform, it retains two independent communication channels.

The developers are also working to integrate vital-signs monitoring systems intended to provide medical personnel with information about the wounded person’s condition during transport.

An electric platform and protection against FPV drones

The evacuation module requires a platform capable of carrying it as it moves through dangerous areas. The Murakha is equipped with two electric motors, delivering a combined torque of 1,600 N·m, and a 35 kWh battery. The system’s stated range is up to 80 km, according to the media outlet.

Another area of development is protection against drones. Measures intended to protect the system include net launchers and electronic warfare (EW) equipment. However, work on a protective cage against FPV drones is still ongoing, according to the report.

The company has already conducted ballistic tests of the armor steel at a distance of 50 meters, using ammunition of various calibers, Militarnyi reports.

The Murakha-Mini logistics platform

The same company previously developed the Murakha-Mini logistics platform. Ukrainian military personnel began using it on the front line to deliver equipment, provisions and other supplies, Militarnyi reported on 24 October 2025.

The UGV can carry up to 250 kg and travel up to 40 km on a single charge, the media outlet reported. During one combat mission, it transported 150 kg of cargo and towed a six-metre platform carrying another drone and provisions, covering 16 km in one direction, Militarnyi reported.