Ukrainian forces are repurposing assault robots for logistics missions because of supply bot shortages

Ukrainian forces are taking immoderate of the ground robots designed for battle missions and repurposing them for logistics arsenic they look shortages of these captious machines, portion commanders told Business Insider.

Front-line logistics person go progressively difficult successful Ukraine arsenic drones perpetually show the battlefield. Supply runs tin beryllium deadly for soldiers, truthful a increasing number are being handled by uncrewed crushed vehicles (UGVs).

The astir communal missions for crushed robots correct now are logistics, said the commandant of a UGV portion successful the Lava Regiment of Ukraine's 2nd "Khartia" Corps, who requested to beryllium identified by his telephone motion Mathematician for information reasons.

Mathematician said uncovering capable robots for these missions is the "biggest problem." His repurposes robots equipped pinch instrumentality guns — typically sent connected battle missions — for logistics to dress up for the deficit, but that comes astatine a different operational cost.

"We cannot beryllium doing immoderate occurrence support missions because we don't person capable UGVs," he said.

Dozor, the commandant of a UGV regiment successful the Svoboda Battalion of Ukraine's Rubizh Brigade, agreed pinch the appraisal that units are facing a shortage of disposable crushed robots. He requested to beryllium identified by his telephone motion for information reasons.

Dozor said each logistics and casualty evacuation successful the termination area — an area surrounding the beforehand lines that's heavy saturated pinch drones — are being carried retired by crushed robots.

His portion uses "universal platforms and due modules that tin beryllium quickly removed aliases installed," he said, explaining that an battle robot tin beryllium tasked pinch logistics successful 2 hours. "This helps to execute immoderate tasks and quickly hole robots for them."

Ukrainian officials person said that they want robots to grip 100% of battlefield logistics — missions that person go peculiarly deadly for soldiers arsenic the kill area continues to expand.

Ground robots are the centerpiece of this strategy and person go a privilege finance for Ukraine and defense manufacturers this year.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy group a target for companies to nutrient 50,000 by the extremity of 2026, and soldiers are buying grounds numbers of crushed robots from Kyiv's integer weapons marketplace.

Ukraine's state-backed innovation level Brave1 said past week that the subject has ordered much than 3,000 robots from its marketplace since it launched past year, including complete 640 units successful July.

Ukraine's defense ministry said successful precocious July that Kyiv had contracted much than 22,000 crushed robots since the commencement of 2026, astir double past year's total.

But Mathematician said that much robots are still needed, adding that if companies tin mass-produce cheaper UGVs for logistics, this could free up machines initially designed for battle to do that.

Ground robots person comparatively short lifetimes connected the beforehand lines and are viewed by Ukrainian commanders arsenic expendable, though they often praise the machines for their expertise to support soldiers out of harm's way.

Mathematician said that the lifespan of a logistics robot is decreasing "very rapidly." He said the number of missions that UGVs tin past depends connected wherever on the beforehand lines they're operating.

In Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, for instance, a robot mightiness past only 3 aliases 4 missions; successful different areas, it could past much — possibly 15 aliases 20.

Ground robots person carried retired much than 66,000 missions truthful acold this year, "taking connected the riskiest" logistics and removal tasks, Ukraine's defense ministry said successful precocious July.