Fully autonomous drones operating without human oversight killed Russian soldiers during a battlefield test in Ukraine about two years ago, according to Ukrainian drone developer Alexander Kokhanovskyy. 

Kokhanovskyy, CEO of the Ukrainian drone maker Aero Center said 10 AI-controlled quadcopter drones were used in a one-time test conducted near the cities of Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar during a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The drones were programmed to fly several kilometers to a designated area before activating what he described as a “Terminator mode,” in which onboard AI independently identified and engaged targets.

“We tried it,” Kokhanovskyy told New Scientist at a press event hosted by the Ukrainian Embassy in London. “It’s a test. We never implemented it [more widely].”

According to Kokhanovskyy, the drones flew between 3 and 5 kilometers (1.9 and 3.1 miles) over roughly 10 minutes before switching to autonomous operation.

“We just launch it and we know everything will be dead – everything that will be found there in this particular area will be dead,” he said. “There is no connection to the drone at all, you cannot see the video, nothing… Everything it sees will be killed.”

After the test, human-operated drones were deployed to assess the area and verify the results. 

According to Kokhanovskyy, the casualties included “a couple of soldiers, one truck.” Although no footage captured the autonomous drones striking the targets, investigators concluded that the drones were responsible for the deaths and destruction.

The reported incident marks the first publicly acknowledged case of a fully autonomous weapon selecting and engaging human targets without direct human control.

Ukraine has become a testing ground for advanced drone technologies in its war with Russia, with both sides increasingly relying on unmanned systems for reconnaissance and strikes, though most military drones remain under human control even when equipped with AI-assisted navigation or targeting. 

Ukraine’s current regulations prohibit fully autonomous lethal action in the final stage of an engagement, requiring human verification before any strike is executed.

Despite this, Kokhanovskyy said: “I would love to operate without that restriction.”

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence did not comment on the test or on the legal status of fully autonomous weapons.