Ukrainian paratroopers have Ukrainian-made logistics and engineering UGVs in their arsenal. They use them to deliver cargo and provisions, evacuate the wounded, lay mines, as well as perform many other tasks. This allows them to protect the lives of Ukrainian fighters.
The work of the 71st Jaeger Brigade’s engineers in the front-line areas of Sumy region was seen by the FREEDOM TV channel film crew.
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Engineering ground robotic systems are used to create barriers made of the Egoza barbed wire razor as well as minefields. In addition, sappers of the 71st Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces often use UGVs for reconnaissance, inspection of dangerous objects as well as their demining.
"Enemy drones equipped with explosives, which fell and did not explode, pose a threat not only to the military, but also to civilians. We are working to ensure safety on the roads where military transport moves. As well as in the fields where civilian combines and tractors work," says the engineer-sapper of the 71st Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces with the call sign "St.S."
The man has been in the army for over 10 years, since 2014. In the Sumy region, paratroopers of his brigade have been holding back the russian occupiers for more than six months.
"Where the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces are, the contact line is quite strong and reliably protected," notes "St.S.".
A fighter with the call sign "Absent" demonstrates the running-in of the Volya-E UGV, which is preparing to go to combat positions.
"This is a universal platform that allows us to transport cargo. The carrying capacity is 150 kg. This allows us to load ammunition, food and deliver the necessary materials for our warriors," he comments.
Another UGV of the Zmij type, in turn, can deliver up to 600 kg of cargo. It is also used to evacuate wounded fighters from positions.
"War has changed, it has become more technological. Accuracy and technological feasibility are decisive on the battlefield," emphasizes "Absent".
In addition, ground robotic vehicles help not only evacuate the wounded, but also save lives. For example, Ukrainian UGV met a russian so-called “Zhdun drone” on the fiber optic cable (russia’s FPV-drone in ambush position) on the way to the position. With their help, the russian army sets traps on logistical routes. Such a drone can wait for several hours for a target, and when it detects it, it attacks. Given that a vehicle from an adjacent unit was driving behind the UGV, the operator of the ground platform decided to destroy the russian FPV by simply running over it.
"Drones sometimes work not only as minesweepers, but also, one might say, as kamikazes. To save the lives of our servicemen," says the commander of the UGV platoon "Physicist".
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the russians shell the Sumy region more than a hundred times a day, but the advance of the russian occupiers has been stopped here. The Defense Forces of Ukraine are inflicting significant losses on the russian troops in this area.
The 71st Jaeger Brigade (Ukrainian: 71-ша окрема єгерська бригада) is an air assault light infantry (Jäger) brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, formed in 2022 in response to the russian invasion of Ukraine.
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