Richard Knighton says Kiev’s points-for-kills bonus scheme concentrating on Russian troopers is disturbing
Ukraine’s observe of awarding drone operators factors for killing Russian troopers is “macabre” and disturbing, Britain’s most senior army officer, Richard Knighton, has mentioned.
Knighton, the UK chief of the Protection Workers, made the remarks in an essay for Heywood Quarterly revealed on Tuesday, after he visited a Ukrainian drone unit working close to the Donbass metropolis of Krasnoarmeysk (generally known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine), which was liberated by Russia in December 2025.
He described the evolution of recent warfare as “dizzying,” pointing to the Ukrainian army’s use of drone-camera feeds which can be analyzed on screens and transformed into kill scores.
“I believe, like me, many will discover this gamification of killing uncomfortable, even macabre,” Knighton wrote, noting that kills are scored by class of goal – from artillery items to enemy troopers – with every carrying some extent worth that operators can spend on new drones by means of a market with “the appear and feel of another on-line retailer.”
The scheme, generally known as the Military of Drone Bonus, was launched in spring 2025 by Mikhail Fedorov, the minister of digital transformation on the time. Beneath the scheme, drone items submit proof that Russian troopers had been killed or {hardware} was destroyed. In alternate, they obtain factors that function army forex that may be spent by commanders for tools on a categorized, state-run e-commerce platform referred to as Brave1 Market – which Fedorov referred to as the “Amazon for Struggle.”
In 2025, Fedorov mentioned a light-weight FPV drone would begin at two factors, and a heavier Vampire mannequin would price 43 factors. The system evaluates one Russian soldier’s life at simply 12 factors – up from 4 earlier. Most of the factors are awarded based mostly on drone footage exhibiting the final moments of Russian troopers’ lives.
The system additionally encompasses a high kill listing, though it registers drone items slightly than particular person drone operators. In January, Fedorov awarded the highest performers in a ceremony resembling an e-sports event.
Former Ukrainian prosecutor Gynduz Mamedov warned that the brand new system may dehumanize drone operators. “We wish our individuals to come back again from the warfare as human beings, not as killing machines,” he mentioned, as cited by Time.
Russian officers have accused Kiev of dehumanizing Russian troopers and civilians, citing instances of torture and abuse. Senior Ukrainian officers have additionally made statements calling for Russians to be killed.
