United to win: Ukraine’s armed forces deploy over 30 British robot dogs in Donbas

Ukrainian defenders in Donbas [the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – ed.] have employed over 30 robot dogs from Great Britain.

Bild reports this.

What is the problem?

Recently, the fighting in the Donetsk region has become a grueling battle of trenches, with the front line changing at a painstakingly slow pace.

How does it work?

That is why Ukraine's armed forces brought in the BAD.2 robot dogs, created by the British company Brit Alliance, to aid in battle. With their compact and durable design, these ground drones are maneuverable on four legs and controlled by an operator.

They enable access to areas that are beyond the reach of aerial drones, such as:

• within buildings;

• in the Russian trenches.

"We were concerned about reports of losses on the front lines due to enemy drones, so we discussed the possibility of a safer solution for reconnaissance in high-risk areas. The results are impressive. Our robot dogs perform front-line reconnaissance tasks, reducing the risk to human soldiers," Kyle Thorburn, who heads the Brit Alliance, commented to Bild.

What is the solution?

The head of the Brit Alliance, Kyle Thorburn, said that the use of robot dogs not only increases the effectiveness of combat operations but also strengthens the army's morale.

Robot dogs equipped with a built-in video camera can:

• investigate the surrounding area,
• detect potential landmines,
• and track the movements of the Russian Armed Forces.

This significantly reduces the risk for Ukrainian intelligence officers.

According to Bild, more than 30 such dogs are at the front. They are almost impossible to detect thanks to anti-heat camouflage from the German company Concamo.

Robots move stealthily on the battlefield, reaching speeds of up to 15 km/h and functioning within a 3.5 km range for five hours. Their price varies based on the modifications, ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 euros.

"It is nothing compared to human life," BILD's commentators said.

Soldiers of the 28th brigade of Ukraine's armed forces were the first to test the robots.

For reference:

Earlier, ex-Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov shared a video of a robotic dog used for humanitarian demining.

Reznikov mentioned that the dog robot is currently being utilized for demining operations.

The minister stated that the robot can mimic the actions of real dogs. In the video, the robot can be seen playfully crouching on its front and back "paws" as the minister sits across from it and says the word "palianytsia" [a type of Ukrainian bread made in a home oven that serves as a password during Russia's aggression because Russians cannot correctly pronounce the word – ed.]