Autonomous AI Drones Kill Russian Soldiers for First Time on June 10, Ukraine Test Reveals

According to drone-maker Alexander Kokhanovskyy, ten fully autonomous AI drones killed Russian soldiers for the first time on June 10 during a Ukrainian counteroffensive near Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar. Speaking to the New Scientist, Kokhanovskyy said the drones flew up to five kilometers over trenches and operated with no human control: "We just launch it and we know everything will be dead... There is no connection to the drone at all."

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence later emphasized that the test was a one-off experiment and stated current policy prohibits AI from making independent lethal decisions. Major Danylo Polozhukhno from Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps said, "We do not use fully autonomous drone systems that independently select and engage targets without any operator involvement."