In Ukraine, it is not just drones that have transformed the war. Land robots are also becoming more and more numerous. Essentially confined to logistical tasks, such as deliveries or evacuation, they began to be tasked with combat missions.
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/2026/06/09/6a27b1a1baf76104937226.jpg "\"This is today’s war\" : in Ukraine, ground robots outline the vision of a war without soldiers")
To save lives, drones are proliferating and these robots, used for evacuation or deliveries of food and equipment, have become essential in Ukraine. Still far from having a humanoid form, these strange vehicles resemble quads equipped with a large metal platform. Some are equipped with tracks, others have huge tractor-style wheels. Managed remotely, the robots communicate with the pilot by satellite.
The most common robots are supply vehicles. They allow cigarettes, ammunition or food to be brought safely to the positions. Well adapted, they can also serve as stretchers, for soldiers or civilians.
In Kharkiv, Halyna Andriivna, 85, was evacuated in mid-May from her house near Vovtchansk, where fighting was raging. It was an infantryman who hoisted the old lady onto the robot platform before returning to battle.
“I was taken out on a stretcher and then in a machine. I was lying down, it was shaking a lot!”
Halyna Andriivna, 85 years, évacuéeà franceinfo
Then, the pilot managed everything from afar, 20 kilometers from the front, with his joystick and screen. “I had no room for errorsays Master Sergeant Volodymyr Tchernenko, operator of the 57th brigade. To the right, there was a burnt-out pick-up carcass and to the left, there was emptiness. The passage was exactly the width of the robot. Too far to the left, and the robot would fall into the void with the grandmother…” But Halyna did not fall. She even traveled 10 kilometers on the robot.
Evacuation, resupply, it is striking to see how quickly technology evolves, and the speed with which the Ukrainian army must adapt. Three months ago, Nazaré Maxime was still in the infantry, fighting on foot. Today, he deals exclusively with robots. “In war, everything goes very quickly. Last month, we carried out 40 missions, says Maxim. And I only talk about successful missions.” “The whole world is impressed by what we do”adds Nazar, at the beginning of June.
“This is today’s war. We are already in the future and if you are flexible, you will get there.”
Naaré Maxime, infantry soldier turned robot operatorà franceinfo
These vehicles are always tested before being sent to the front, like this robot weighing around 400 kilos assembled two days ago and currently undergoing test driving. In Da Vinci’s Wolf Battalion, the men are checking their latest delivery. “The cameras are stable. The connection is good. The battery is at 62%”controls a soldier. Launched at 5-6 km/h and carrying a generator, the robot absorbs the terrain of the country road quite well.
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In general, Ukrainian robots are three to four times cheaper than their European or American equivalents and they are often better adapted. “We have a German model. It costs 180,000 euros and it doesn’t go to the front. We tried once, it broke down! We sent it for repair, they repaired it, but now it’s the cameras and the GPS that don’t work. So working with them is a bit complicated.”
It should still be noted that the lifespan of a terrestrial robot is very, very short. In general, the robot has time to complete three missions maximum, before being destroyed by a Russian drone.
These robots, often dedicated to logistics, sometimes transform into fighters. They can be equipped with machine guns, others lay mines or blow themselves up in basements.
“We are also testing an unmanned ground vehicle, equipped with a laser system to destroy drones, explains Vladyslav Balbas, who runs Ukrainian Armor, an armored vehicle manufacturer that now makes robots. We could end up deploying entirely autonomous systems, as close as possible to the front, without any human presence. This would be a major change to preserve the lives of soldiers. Sooner or later, we will see him on the battlefield.”
“Perhaps we will arrive, like in Terminator, with machines that will fight other machines!”
Vladyslav Balbas, director of Ukrainian Armorà franceinfo
In mid-April Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the taking of a Russian position solely using ground robots and drones.
