Ukraine's Third Army Corps used heavy bomber drones to air-drop explosive ground robots more than six miles behind Russian frontlines on September 21, according to the Ukrainian government platform United24. The maneuver let robots bypass tough terrain and enemy defenses to attack supply lines in the rear. The report describes it as the most ambitious robotic airborne assault to date, though not the first time Ukraine has used heavy drones to deliver robots closer to their targets.
Separately, ground robots cleared antipersonnel mines from more than 18 miles of routes ahead of Ukrainian infantry, a task that would typically require two sapper companies. Militarnyi and United24 report that remote-controlled robots and their operators now handle about 60 percent of mine clearance in the Third Army Corps' area of operations. This reduces risk to human lives and helps Ukraine compensate for its manpower disadvantage against Russian forces.
The robot operations support Operation Vivaldi, which has reclaimed up to 96 square miles of territory and defeated the northern part of a Russian pincer movement, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Ukraine's drone strikes on Russian fuel supplies and its own electronic warfare systems, which reportedly neutralized about 20,000 Russian drones, have contributed to what ISW calls "tactical drone overmatch." The source notes Russia is still preparing future mechanized assaults in the region.