A Ukrainian company making ground robots said it was surprised to see Russian soldiers surrender to its machines.
Ukraine’s military has shared multiple videos showing Russian soldiers surrendering to unmanned ground vehicles, or UGVs, which are increasingly taking over human combat roles and being used to keep Ukrainian troops farther from the fighting.
Oleg Fedoryshyn, the director of R&D at DevDroid, which makes combat robots and weapon-mounting systems for machine guns and grenade launchers, said he was caught off guard by reports that Russian soldiers had surrendered to one of the company’s robots.
“Of course, I was a little bit surprised,” he said.
Fedoryshyn said that robots are well-suited for this particular role because they reduce the danger to Ukrainian troops. A surrendering Russian soldier could attack approaching soldiers or detonate a grenade, he said, something Ukraine has previously reported happening. If a robot approaches instead and they opt for such a course of action, then the worst-case scenario is they just “destroy some metal, and that’s all.”
One highly publicized surrender was in January. DevDroid shared footage of one of its TW-7.62 systems capturing three Russian soldiers. In the video, three men walk with their arms raised and then lie down. The company then wrote that the operation meant there was “no risk for our fighters” and that this is “what modern warfare looks like.”
Fedoryshyn said Russian troops have surrendered to DevDroid robots in other cases as well. “It’s not just the one incident.”
Ukrainian units don’t share full operational details with manufacturers, but Fedoryshyn said he suspects there were likely soldiers nearby, with aerial drones also supporting the mission. Still, he said, using the robotic system for the surrender helped keep troops safe.
Robots are increasingly being used to capture Russian soldiers. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in April that Ukraine had, for the first time, forced Russian soldiers to surrender and captured their position using only aerial drones and ground robots, without infantry involvement.
It was done “without losses on our side,” he said.
The ground robots are newer to the war than aerial drones, but they are quickly changing the fight. They are being used to evacuate wounded soldiers, carry gear and weaponry, fire at or explode inside Russian positions, and to lay and remove mines.
As Ukraine bets big on robotic systems, Zelenskyy said last month that he had tasked officials with manufacturing at least 50,000 ground robots this year. And Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the country’s goal is to have 100% of front-line logistics done by robotic systems, not by humans. These efforts come as the number of combat missions involving the robots has soared in recent months.
Russian soldiers have also been recorded surrendering to aerial drones during the war. In some cases, troops have held up written messages visible to drone cameras or followed surrender instructions dropped or broadcast by Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine issued an instructional video in 2022 with instructions for Russian soldiers on how they could surrender to Ukrainian drones.
Ukraine has reported Russian soldiers surrendering throughout the war amid accounts of poor morale, minimal training, and deadly “meat wave” assaults. Russia also holds Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine has shared videos it says show Russian soldiers killing themselves rather than being captured, alleging some commanders instruct troops not to surrender.
Ukraine actively encourages Russian soldiers to surrender through a program called “I Want to Live,” which promises treatment in accordance with the Geneva Convention, including food and medical care. The service’s website says that “you are not alone — several thousand servicemen have already saved their lives by surrendering voluntarily.”
