Main points
- In the first three months of 2026, Ukrainian units carried out approximately 24,500 missions with the help of the NRC.
- Technology allows robots to perform tasks previously performed by soldiers, reducing their risks on the battlefield.
The Third Army Corps has a plan to create assault ground robotic complexes. Testing of such equipment at training grounds is ongoing.
This was stated in an exclusive interview with Channel 24 by one of the founders and deputy commander of the KRAKEN unmanned systems regiment of the Third Army Corps, Konstantin Nemichev, adding that the NRC has a wide range of functions, in particular, it performs logistical functions: transporting medical equipment, evacuating the wounded.
The functions of fighters will be transferred to robots
Modern warfare is designed to bring technology to the front lines. To protect personnel, ground-based robotic systems will increasingly be used for certain functions.
Recently, one of the battalions of the Third Assault Brigade captured Russians on a robotic complex. First, they broke up their position, then they threw out a piece of cardboard with the inscription that they were surrendering. The NRC arrived and took them away,
– said Nemichev.
This, in his words, indicates that technology is rapidly advancing. He emphasized that if a year ago soldiers had to get behind the wheel of armored vehicles to evacuate the wounded and transport ammunition, today a robot can do this, reducing the risks to the army's manpower. After all, UAVs are now very developed, which are impressive, in particular, the Russians are constantly “hunting” Ukrainian defenders with the help of FPV drones.
For your information! The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that in March, the NRC carried out more than 9,000 missions on the front, including combat and logistical ones. For comparison, in November 2025, the figure reached 2,900, and in January 2026 – more than 7,500. In total, in the first three months of this year, the robots performed 24,500 tasks. In the first month of spring, 167 SOU units used ground robotic complexes to carry out tasks on the battlefield.
Assault IRCs will appear on the front line
Previously, Konstantin Nemichev reported that the Third Army Corps has a plan to create assault IRCs in order to reduce the number of fighters on the front line of combat. Thanks to AI, they will detect enemy targets for destruction, and the IRC pilot, being in a safe place, will decide whether to confirm the command to destroy or cancel.
Note! Software engineer and co-founder of RoverTech Borys Drozhak expressed his belief that the main indicator of the success of the NRC is determined by the volume of effective and timely completed missions. Currently, the Ukrainian company is working to improve the protection of its robots so that they are more durable and can travel with an overload of 1.5 tons and carry out at least 200 missions.
Will robots be able to completely replace fighters?
The commander of the NC13 ground robotic systems unit of the Third Assault Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykola Zinkevich, said that work is underway to ensure that robotic complexes, not infantry, take the main blow. The infantry, according to him, should become an elite specialized unit that will perform functions that the NRC will not be able to do. In his opinion, people will continue to be the basis of the Armed Forces under any circumstances.
He added that today the NRC performs the following missions: delivering cargo to positions, conducting surveillance, evacuating the wounded, destroying enemy fortifications, mining territories, and conducting sabotage operations behind enemy lines.