Ukraine said it carried out what it described as the first fully uncrewed amphibious assault into Russian-occupied territory using a naval drone and an armed ground robot.
The operation took place on the Russian-held Kinburn Spit in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region, according to Ukraine’s 123rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. The brigade said operators remotely guided an unmanned surface vessel (USV) to the occupied shoreline, where it deployed an armed ground robot for a combat mission.
“The first known combat mission of its kind in the world,” the brigade notes. “A ground robotic system was delivered to an enemy shoreline by an unmanned maritime platform, deployed onto occupied territory, and used to carry out a combat mission.”
A 57-second video released by the brigade shows a ground robot being transported on a USV before rolling onto shore. The USV then pulls away as the robot appears to fire at an unidentified target in the distance. The footage could not be independently verified.
No soldiers. Just machines.
Ukraine has carried out the world’s first known combat mission in which a sea drone transported and deployed an armed ground robot behind Russian lines on the occupied Kinburn Spit. pic.twitter.com/zyJdFXWxVb
— Ivan Khomenko (@KhomenkoIv60065) July 13, 2026
The military did not identify the ground robot used in the mission, but analysts from The War Zone said footage released by the brigade appears to show a Ukrainian-made Rys unmanned ground vehicle equipped with a PKT machine gun.
“The unmanned raft carrying the ground robotic system makes it possible to deliver robotic platforms to areas where the risk to human personnel is extremely high,” the brigade said. “This is a new approach to warfare, where machines perform the most dangerous tasks while Ukrainian troops are creating new rules for modern combat.”
The Kinburn Spit has remained under Russian control since the early months of Moscow’s full-scale invasion and is heavily monitored by Russian surveillance drones, artillery and reconnaissance assets, making conventional amphibious landings highly dangerous.
The latest operation marks the first publicly reported use of a naval drone to transport and deploy an armed ground robot during a combat mission.
Ukraine has previously used naval drones to strike Russian warships in the Black Sea, while unmanned ground vehicles have increasingly been deployed for logistics, casualty evacuation, mine-laying and combat missions.
