Ukraine Deploys Gun-Wielding War Robot via Sea Drone

Ukraine has used a sea drone to deliver a gun-toting robot for the first time during a mission into Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine, according to soldiers fighting in the area.

In a 57-second clip posted by drone specialists in Ukraine’s 123rd Territorial Defense Brigade, a ground robot perched on a floating platform can be seen heading toward a narrow shoreline before rolling off the sea drone and onto land.

The waterborne drone quickly retreats back into the water before another camera shows the robot firing on toward a target in the distance. Newsweek could not independently verify the video.

Drones on the battlefields of Ukraine are upgraded every few weeks, with militaries across the world watching as Russia and Ukraine test and deploy the most cutting-edge ground-based, flying and waterborne drones.

While Ukraine’s flying drones and explosive-laden uncrewed boats are well known, Kyiv’s growing fleet of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) attract far less attention but are increasingly important in grinding battles.

Both Russia and Ukraine, under pressure to keep their ranks full of soldiers after nearly four-and-a-half years of all-out war, can use robots to keep human beings out of the firing line during different types of missions, from evacuating injured soldiers to minelaying or hurtling toward a target and detonating.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, said back in April Ukrainian troops had managed to retake territory from Russia using only robots for the first time.

“This is a new approach to war,” the 123rd Territorial Defense Brigade’s 1st Unmanned Systems Battalion said in a post to messaging app Telegram on Monday.

Targeting a Key Russian Position

An animation in the brigade’s video indicated the drones were launched from Ukrainian-held territory along the southern coast onto the northern edge of the Kinburn Spit, which is located at the end of the peninsula of the same name.

The Kinburn Spit, stretching just 6 miles, sits at the mouth of the Dnieper River and can control vessels arriving at and departing from the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv.

Analysts say Russian troops have used the spit to launch artillery strikes on Ukrainian-held territory across the water.

Russia captured the strip of territory shortly after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and has maintained its grip on the spit despite Ukrainian raids.

Ukrainian forces deployed in the south claimed in late June Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flag was flying on the Kinburn Spit after Ukrainian operations forced Russia to abandon their defensive positions.

But a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy quickly downplayed the comments, saying that although some Russian troops had been pushed back, Moscow hadn’t entirely withdrawn from the spit.

One of Russia’s influential community of military bloggers said earlier this month Ukrainian forces had strangled Russian logistics to the Kinburn Spit, making operations “very difficult” for Russia in the area.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Frances Mao and Yannick Demoustier.

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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 12:42 PM.