As part of the offensive operation Vivaldi, the Third Army Corps became the first military formation to deploy ground robotic systems (GRS) for demining and to support assault operations.
The corps said the main aim of introducing these technologies is to replace infantry with robots in the most dangerous areas, in order to save as many Ukrainian service personnel’s lives as possible.
In the Shandryholove sector, the GRS cleared 30 kilometres of routes. The robots dealt with an extremely difficult stretch in just two nights, whereas two companies of sappers would have needed a week. The key outcome of using the technology was the complete absence of casualties among the sappers.
“People often ask: what about our losses? My answer is that we minimise them by every possible means. During assault operations, UAVs and GRS always go ahead of the infantry,” Brigadier General Andriy Biletskyy, commander of the Third Army Corps, said in an address on the start of the second phase of Operation Vivaldi.
The Third Army Corps built and scaled up a system for employing GRS from scratch — from squad level to corps level. In open terrain and continuous kill zones, it would have been impossible to clear areas using manpower alone, while the robotic systems are already removing about 60% of anti-personnel mines in the area of responsibility.
In addition to demining, ground drones are successfully working proactively, remotely laying mines along the enemy’s routes of advance. A single crew can mine up to 200 metres of terrain in a day, isolating the combat area and disrupting the approach of enemy reserves. GRS also ensure uninterrupted logistics on the forward edge: evacuating the wounded, delivering food, construction materials and equipment, minimising risks for the infantry.
Operation Vivaldi in Donetsk Region is continuing and gathering pace. During the second phase of the offensive, fighters of the Third Army Corps liberated the settlements of Shandryholove and Derylove, and also established full control over Drobyshcheve. Overall, at this stage they have already returned 125 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory to Ukrainian control.