Ukraine is gearing towards producing at least 50,000 combat robots to support and replace its soldiers fighting on the frontline.
Ukrainian officials say that using unmanned ground weapons would help Ukraine optimise its headcount while fighting Russia and free soldiers from dangerous tasks, Bloomberg reports.
Zelenskyy has instructed the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Armed Forces to supply 50,000 ground robotic systems towards integrating combats and logistics robotics to bolster infantry.
It comes as Ukrainian President Zelensky appealed to the West for more missile defences after a major Russian air attack on Kyiv killed 17 people.
In the east of the country, near Dobropillia, the 93rd Mechanised Brigade used a robot equipped with a flamethrower to target Russian positions established on the edge of a wooded area, allowing Ukrainian troops to neutralise the remaining fighters.
Last month, Ukraine landed a remote-controlled combat robot using an unmanned naval drone that travelled nearly 7 miles to reach the shore of the occupied Kinburn Spit in southern Ukraine.
The Wolly 7.62 ground robot carried a machine gun loaded with ammunition that fired on Russian troop positions, forcing them to pull back from part of the coastline.
Also last month, footage captured how Russian soldiers surrendered to a Ukrainian patrol made up entirely of robots and drones.
