Ukraine’s Third Army Corps has revealed a secret robot mission that killed 3,000 Russian troops and recaptured territory in Donetsk.
Gen. Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the Third Army Corps, announced last Thursday on Telegram that his unit had completed “Operation Vivaldi,” a months-long deployment of airdropped unmanned ground vehicles behind Russian lines. The operation began in May and concluded last week, according to the announcement.
“We’re the first in the world to use this tactic — dropping ground robots,” Biletskyi said on YouTube.
The small four-wheeled robots, described as “kamikaze ground robots,” were delivered by bomber drones up to 9 miles behind the Russian frontline. Cameras mounted on the UGVs captured footage of the surprise attacks.
The unit carried out more than 15,700 missions total, targeting Russian command posts, shelters, logistics hubs and river crossings. The operation resulted in the recapture of five villages and three settlements in Donetsk, reclaiming 48 square miles of occupied territory in the eastern region.
“An historic moment,” the Third Army Corps posted on Telegram Thursday. “The Third Army Corps has begun a new stage of the war with the landing of ground robots.”
Biletskyi emphasized the tactical element of surprise that made the operation effective. “The enemy expects the threat from the sky, not the ground,” he said on YouTube. “Where the enemy least expected it, dead and wounded Russian soldiers appeared.”
Russia currently occupies approximately 80% of Donetsk, one of two provinces that make up the industrial Donbas region that Vladimir Putin has sought to seize. The territory reclaimed in Operation Vivaldi represents a fraction of the occupied area but marks a notable tactical innovation in the conflict.
The revelation of the robot mission comes as Ukraine continues to seek battlefield advantages through technological innovation, particularly in drone and unmanned systems warfare. The use of ground-based rather than aerial unmanned vehicles for behind-enemy-lines operations represents a significant departure from established tactics.
The Third Army Corps made details of the feat public following the operation’s conclusion last week, having maintained operational secrecy throughout the May-through-June deployment period.