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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Ukrainian forces are compelled to repurpose ground robots designed for assault operations into logistical missions. The reason is a shortage of unmanned ground vehicles, which are increasingly used to deliver ammunition, provisions, and to evacuate injured personnel from dangerous front-line areas. Commanders of Ukrainian units told Business Insider.
Because of the constant presence of Russian drones, moving around near the front line is becoming increasingly dangerous. Therefore, some tasks that were previously performed by service members are being taken over by unmanned ground vehicles.
Commander of the unmanned transport unit of the "Lava Regiment" of the 2-c corps, who uses the call sign "Mathematician," stated that logistics is now one of the most common tasks for ground robots.
At the same time, units are short of such machines. "Mathematician" says:
"The biggest problem is finding a sufficient number of robots."
Due to a shortage of equipment, his unit is forced to use, for cargo delivery, even robots equipped with machine guns that are usually intended for assault operations. According to "Mathematician," this helps compensate for the lack of logistics platforms, but at the same time reduces the unit’s ability to carry out other combat tasks.
"We cannot carry out some fire support missions because we do not have enough unmanned transport vehicles," he explained.
One robot can be reconfigured in two hours.
Another Ukrainian commander, "Scout" from the unmanned vehicle unit of the battalion "Freedom" of the Rubizhne Brigade, also confirmed the problem of shortages of robotic equipment.
According to him, in the zone of damage where Russian drones constantly monitor the area, ground work carries out logistical tasks and evacuation of the wounded. The unit uses universal platforms with changeable modules. Thanks to this, one robot can be quickly adapted to a new task.
"A assault robot can be assigned to logistics in two hours," the serviceman said.
This approach allows the military to quickly change the purpose of machines depending on the front-line situation.
Ukraine wants to shift logistics to robots.
Ukrainian servicemen and officials aim to replace as many people as possible with robots during logistical operations on the front line. This is connected with the expansion of the so-called 'kill zone' – the area around the front line that is increasingly tightly controlled by drones.
Ground robotics has become one of the priorities of Ukrainian defense production. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has tasked manufacturers with producing 50 thousand such machines by the end of 2026 year.
According to the state innovation platform Brave1, the military has already ordered through its marketplace more than 3 thousand ground robots since the platform's launch. More than 640 of them were in July.
At the end of July, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that since the beginning of 2026 year the state has ordered more than 22 thousand ground robotic complexes – almost twice as many as in the entire previous year.
However, soldiers say this is still not enough. "Mathematician" emphasizes that if manufacturers could mass-produce cheaper unmanned transport means specifically for logistics, assault machines could be left for combat tasks.
Robots quickly break down.
Ground robotic equipment on the front lines has a relatively short service life. The military effectively treats such machines as expendable, although they note that they help greatly reduce risks to people.
According to "Mathematician," a logistics robot can rapidly lose functionality. The duration of its service depends on the specific front area. For example, in the Kharkiv region one machine can perform only three to four missions. In other areas the robot is capable of surviving 15–20 sorties.
Nevertheless, the scale of robot usage in Ukraine is growing rapidly. According to the Ministry of Defense, only in 2026 year ground robotic complexes already performed over 66 thousand missions, taking over the most dangerous logistics and evacuation tasks.
Robots on the front – main news.
As UNIAN reported, Ukraine is rapidly creating a unique arsenal for a constantly changing war, equipping its Armed Forces with drones, robots, and autonomous interceptors designed to detect and destroy Russian threats with minimal human involvement.
Business Insider writes that robotic systems are already performing various tasks: transporting cargo, protecting cities, and locating and destroying targets on the front line.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Українські військові вимушено перетворюють штурмових роботів на "курʼєрів", - BI". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: UNIAN.
