As part of the Vivaldi offensive operation, Ukraine’s Third Army Corps has become the first military formation in the world to deploy unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for demining and supporting assault operations.
The effectiveness of the new tactic was demonstrated in the Shandryholove sector. Robotic systems cleared 30 kilometres of routes in just two nights — an amount of work that would have required at least a week for two companies of combat engineers. Most importantly, the use of UGVs resulted in no casualties among the engineering units.
Announcing the beginning of the second stage of Operation Vivaldi, Third Army Corps commander Brigadier General Andrii Biletskyi stressed that minimising risks to Ukrainian troops remains a key priority when planning operations.
“We are often asked about our losses. My answer is that we minimise them in every possible way. During assault operations, UAVs and UGVs always move ahead of the infantry,” Biletskyi said.
The Third Army Corps developed its own system for deploying UGVs and expanded their use from individual squads to the entire corps. In open terrain, robotic systems are already clearing around 60% of anti-personnel mines within the unit’s area of responsibility.
In addition to demining, ground drones perform other important missions:
- remotely laying mines along Russian forces’ advance routes, with one crew capable of mining up to 200 metres per day and disrupting the movement of Russian reserves;
- evacuating wounded soldiers and delivering food, construction materials and ammunition to frontline positions.
Operation Vivaldi is continuing in the Donetsk region. During the second stage of the offensive, the corps has already liberated Shandryholove and Derylove and taken full control of Drobysheve, bringing a total of 125 square kilometres of territory back under Ukrainian control.
