Ukraine’s 123rd Separate Territorial Defence Brigade has conducted an amphibious assault on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit, northwest of the Crimean Peninsula, using purely robotic platforms.
The Ukrainian military has conducted what appears to be the world’s first combat amphibious assault using purely robotic platforms.
The operation, footage of which was released via social media on 13 July 2026, took place on the Russian-occupied Kinburn Spit, northwest of the Crimean Peninsula, and was conducted by the 1st Unmanned Systems Battalion of Ukraine’s 123rd Separate Territorial Defence Brigade. It involved a small unmanned landing craft, powered by an outboard motor, landing what appeared to be a Rys (Lynx) wheeled unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) produced by Ukrainian firm Roboneers that was armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun.
In a statement calling the operation “the first known combat mission of this format in the world”, the brigade stated that “the ground robotic complex [system] was delivered to the enemy shore using an unmanned maritime platform, landed on occupied Ukrainian territory, and employed to accomplish a combat task”.
Footage from on board the UGV shows it engaging a target along the shoreline, although it was not clear what the target actually was. While footage from the unmanned landing craft shows it withdrawing, there was no indication of whether the UGV was subsequently recovered.
The Rys UGV family is widely used by Ukrainian forces, performing tasks such as logistics, casualty evacuation and engineering missions, while armed versions have been used for combat support combat support.
On 25 June 2026 Germany company ARX Robotics announced that it had that day formed ARX Industries: a joint venture with Roboneers that will industrialise UGV production and manufacture the Rys Pro UGV at scale across facilities in both Germany and Ukraine.
The joint venture aims to produce thousands of Rys Pro units within the first year of operation and is supported by both the Ukrainian and German governments.
