Kyiv, Ukraine - A Ukrainian unit told AFP on Wednesday that it has carried out more than 100 attacks on the front using ground robots, after President Volodymyr Zelensky recently hailed the capture of a Russian position thanks to this new method.

"In total, there have already been over 100 such operations," said a source within the NC-13 company, which specialises in the use of these combat machines and is part of Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade.

"These operations include the elimination of enemy personnel, the destruction of shelters, command posts, and other enemy infrastructure objects. These are no longer isolated incidents, but systematic combat operations," the source said.

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The systems allow the replacement of infantry assaults – which can result in soldier deaths – but also to detect and engage targets and prevent enemy infiltrations, the source said.

"For full-scale robotic assault operations, we are already deploying 5–6 ground-based robotic kamikaze systems simultaneously, along with ground-based robotic systems equipped with combat modules," the source said.

"This approach effectively replaces an assault infantry group, minimising risks to personnel.

"We have repeatedly observed instances where the enemy perceived such actions as an assault group's advance and abandoned their positions."

Earlier this week, Zelensky said that robots "on the ground" and in the air made it possible to capture a Russian position on the battlefield.

In a statement, Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade said on Wednesday that this first operation took place in the summer of 2025.

According to the brigade, four ground drones – remotely controlled vehicles, each carrying more than 60 lbs. of explosives -- were sent to destroy a Russian position on the front line, after infantry troops twice stormed the position and failed, incurring loss of life.

"The first system blew up the entrance – the enemy took cover inside. The second GRS (ground robotic system) drove up to the bunker and stopped at the entrance. The remaining occupiers realised their position was hopeless and wrote on a piece of cardboard that they were surrendering," the unit said in a press release on Wednesday.

"This was the first robotic assault on enemy positions in the world to take prisoners without the involvement of infantry," the brigade said.