Ukraine fields combat-ready UGVs as Russia counters with its own robotic breaching units.

Ukraine and Russia are increasingly using tracked and wheeled unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) to probe and operate inside the most lethal sections of the front, from ammo delivery to breaching and casualty evacuation.

According to information published by Forbes, on October 12, 2025, both Russia and Ukraine have begun pushing unmanned ground vehicles directly into the most lethal parts of the front to probe fortified lines shaped by drones, artillery, and mines. The report captures a pivot in land warfare, where tracked and wheeled robots operate inside overlapping kill zones that previously swallowed infantry and armor. These machines range from small, camera-laden carriers that haul ammunition to heavier platforms mounting machine guns, grenade launchers, and specialized breaching payloads, all teleoperated from defilade to keep crews alive.
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Ukrainian and Russian forces are deploying armed and support unmanned ground vehicles into front-line combat zones, marking a new phase in robotic warfare where machines handle logistics, breaching, and assault roles once reserved for soldiers (Picture source: Brave1).

Ukraine is moving fastest to institutionalize the concept. Kyiv announced dedicated robotic vehicle units early this year, validated by field trials that pushed UGVs into logistics, assault support, and casualty evacuation roles to offset manpower strain. The government’s plan is not ad hoc tinkering; it is a force design choice that threads robots into platoon and company schemes of maneuver with operators trained alongside sappers and drone pilots.

Industry has followed suit with lighter, more modular frames that accept weapon stations or engineering kits within minutes. European and Ukrainian firms describe reductions in size and weight to ease frontline transport, simplified controls for conscript-friendly training, and quick swap components to survive mud, dust, and battle damage. That industrial approach lets commanders configure the same base chassis as a mule in the morning and a breacher by nightfall, an adaptability that traditional armor cannot match at this scale or cost.

Frontline UGVs are built around robust radio links, thermal and day optics, and stabilized mounts that keep sensors steady while negotiating shattered terrain. Jam-resistant control packages and mesh repeaters extend reach around rubble and tree lines, while batteries and small generators give several hours of motion before a hot swap. Medical variants cradle casualties on damped stretchers to limit trauma as they crawl back under fire, a detail that speaks to the gritty practicality of this robotics surge.

Ukraine’s defense establishment has approved tracked Krampus robots carrying RPV 16 thermobaric launchers for bunker busting, and assault brigades have stood up dedicated ground drone detachments that field machine gun-armed UGVs for combined ops with quadcopters. In practice, units use the ground robot to trigger mines, soak first contact, or dump a lethal payload at trench mouth while an overhead FPV stalks fleeing defenders, a man-machine pairing that compresses the kill chain to seconds.

Commanders describe UGVs as expendable scouts and breachers that also keep the logistical bloodstream flowing. Robots run last-mile resupply at night, tow light mine rollers to open sally ports through belts, lay smoke from safe standoff, and drag wounded men back when quadcopters are grounded by weather. When synced with aerial drones and counter-drone screens, these ground platforms create a layered reconnaissance strike complex that helps infantry reclaim initiative inside drone-dominated terrain. The goal is not to replace soldiers but to let machines take the first punch.

Kyiv’s public target of fielding up to 15,000 ground robots by the end of 2025, however aspirational, signals a doctrine shift with procurement consequences for NATO partners and industry. Moscow is adapting in parallel, blending cheap robotics with massed drones and artillery in a grinding contest of signatures and attrition.