A system for organizing drone attacks that mimics the logic of a video game is popular among Ukrainian military units. As Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov explains: guardian This extends to reconnaissance, artillery, and logistics operations.
The “Drone Army Bonus System” functions as a competition where different teams earn points by killing or wounding Russian soldiers. According to Ukrainian authorities, 95 teams took part in August, and 400 teams have already participated in September. In September, 18,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded under this system.
The system was launched more than a year ago to award points to soldiers for successful attacks. Points can be redeemed for more weapons at Brave1, an Amazon-style online weapons store. Brave1 offers over 100 different types of drones, autonomous vehicles, and war materials for drones.
The team of Achilles and the Phoenix leads the rankings of this system and is a clear example of the increasing automation of warfare. “It has become very popular among the troops,” Fedorov elaborates. “The defense forces all know this and are competing for points to get drones, electronic warfare systems, everything that helps in the war effort. The more infantry you take out, the more drones take out more infantry. It’s kind of a vicious cycle,” he added.
More points, more losses
Russian military casualties were twice as high in September 2025 as in October 2024. This was due in part to changes in battlefield priorities resulting from Kiev’s decision to double the reward for killing Russian infantry, from 6 points to 12 points.
Ukraine’s spy agency believes Russia may also be developing its own incentive system for soldiers to compete.
Ukraine has extended this system to its artillery units, with the added incentive of allowing artillery to exchange the points they earn for new weapons. In reconnaissance units, you earn points by finding enemy targets. and logistics teams, by resupplying the front lines with self-driving vehicles that are not driven by humans.
Fedorov said the Ukrainian military is also encouraging the use of drones that are partially controlled by artificial intelligence, which recommends target selection and controls the drones in the last moments of their trajectory to increase the accuracy of attacks.
The recognition unit refers to the application to achieve points in what are called “Uber goals.” of transportation. “Basically, they place a marker on the map, similar to when you order a taxi on an Uber map, but instead of a taxi reaching that target, it’s a drone from another force,” Fedorov said.
This expansion of the point system comes despite warnings against NATO countries relying too heavily on drones. Russia’s defenses against unmanned vehicles have improved dramatically. Experts at the Royal United Services Institute, a British defense think tank, recently drew attention to the need to return to conventional aircraft and artillery.
There’s little emotional reflection here, more of a technical work
Mikhailo Fedorov
— Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine
In addition to doubling the points for killing Russian infantry, killing an enemy drone operator now awards 25 points. Capturing a Russian soldier using a drone will reward you with 120 points, indicating Ukraine’s need to acquire prisoners in order to negotiate with Moscow.
put a price on someone’s life
The distribution of points is determined by the Government of Ukraine. Federov said its members have become “very callous” when it comes to putting a price on human life. “We’ve been at war for four years straight and it’s tough,” he says. “We are just looking for ways to increase efficiency, and we consider it part of our daily work. There is little emotional reflection here, more of a technical work. If we do not stop the enemy, he will kill our soldiers, and when the enemy dies, he will reach the city and conquer it, destroy it, kill civilians,” he added.
Ukrainian drone operators sometimes get up to 250 meters from the front. Other times, they are two miles away, sitting in a hiding place in front of a computer screen, sometimes using a video game controller to direct their attacks.
Achilles is one of the ten most successful drone regiments, operating in the Donetsk region and eastern Kharkov region. Commander Yuri Fedorenko said the best pilots aren’t necessarily video game experts. “Disciplined people are the best pilots,” he says. “Of course, the younger you are, the longer you can stay awake and the less time you need to recover, but the more disciplined you are, the better you will be at operating a drone.”
Fedorenko downplays the idea that the system turns war into a game. Destroying low-lying targets may be ordered to achieve immediate combat objectives, he says. “This is war, so we have to accomplish the mission first,” he says. “That’s what we have to do, not go for points.”
“The whole force is in competition,” said Andriy Poltolatsky, who is also the commander of the drone force. “Drone operators compete with each other, each group of drone operators competes with other groups, and even the highest-ranking commanders compete with each other.”
In Poltoratsky’s opinion, it’s more healthy competition than fun. He points out that as soon as Russia launches an attack, regardless of the points provided, “the competition stops and everyone cooperates in the mission of best protecting the lives of Ukrainians.”
The point-for-kill system provided Ukraine with a wealth of data to “understand the mathematics of war more deeply,” Fedorov explained. “Thanks to the points, we are starting to understand better what is happening on the battlefield,” he says. “To earn points, drone units must upload confirmation videos, which will help them understand which targets are being attacked, where in relation to the line of contact, and what drones and media are being used.”
“That way we can see what is most effective and what is least effective,” he added. “Everyone is looking at the rankings, so units are starting to come together to learn from each other. The units at the top teach and pave the way for the units that are growing and developing. This is bottom-up innovation.”
Translation of Francisco de Zarate
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