Zelenskyy Claims Robots Captured Russian Battlefield Position, First in Over 4-Year War

Probably for the first time in the over four-year war, the Ukrainian Army has reportedly captured a Russian battlefield position, using only robotic systems and drones.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday (April 13, 2026) claimed his nation’s army had taken control of an enemy position exclusively using unmanned platforms, both ground and aerial.

“For the first time in the history of this war, an enemy position was taken exclusively by unmanned platforms — ground systems and drones,” Zelenskyy said.

“The occupiers surrendered, and the operation was carried out without infantry and without losses on our side,” Zelenskyy added.

He, however, did not provide exact details on the location or scale of the operation.

Ukraine has upped the deployment of robotic systems, piloted by humans from a safe distance, on the battlefield in its war with Russia in recent months.

These robotic systems perform different assault operations and pull out wounded troops from the battlefield, called kill zones, where drones could hit human evacuation teams.

In January, Ukrainian ground robot Droid TW-7.62, equipped with artificial intelligence elements for autonomous detection, capture, and tracking of targets, took three Russian soldiers as POWs, Ukrainian arms maker Devdroid claimed.

Zelenskyy said that in the first three months of 2026, ground robotic systems performed more than 22,000 missions on Ukraine’s front line.

“In other words, lives were saved more than 22,000 times when a robot went into the most dangerous areas instead of a warrior. This is about high technology protecting the highest value — human life,” Zelenskyy said.