In Ukraine, the war is increasingly dominated by drones, but a new programme launched by Ukraine's military is now awarding points to pilots who steer drones with controllers, crash into targets and upload recordings of their killings.

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Russian forces have invaded Ukraine from land, air and sea with strikes causing widespread damage. Global leaders have condemned the move and imposed sanctions.

Ukraine Invasion

Ukrainian soldiers are now participating in a points-based system that gamifies combat operations. Drone pilots record their missions, and verified kills or destruction of enemy equipment are converted into points through a programme called Brave One. These points can be exchanged for new weapons or equipment for their units. The initiative is designed to motivate soldiers and improve battlefield performance, with many participants adapting quickly due to their familiarity with technology. While the Ukrainian military claims the programme enhances competition and data verification, critics argue it risks trivialising the violence of war.

Ukraine gamifies combat, as soldiers start killing for points, rewards

It's a system designed to boost battlefield performance. Ukrainian pilots steer a drone with controllers via a monitor, drop munitions or crash directly into targets. Their recordings are uploaded onto a programme called Brave One, which are then verified and converted into points. The more soldiers killed or equipment destroyed, the more points are racked up. Pilots can then convert points into new weapons or equipment for their units. Many are not hesitating to pick up the controllers. Everyone is motivated to kill the targets first and foremost. It's interesting to criticise, but I think if they were in our place, they would understand what it's about. There's a war going on in our country, a war of destruction, so there's no mercy here. For the head of the programme, many of his generation, now serving in the same unit, grew up with smartphones, making the transition to drone piloting easy. The idea behind this programme is that in the first stage, we started awarding a certain number of bonuses or points for each enemy hit, tank destroyed or damaged, Russian enemy infantry killed or wounded, and aircraft or helicopter destroyed. It is something like tokens or coins. Critics say the programme risks trivialising the violence of warfare. But the Ukrainian army claims the scheme has spurred competition among units and improved the military's ability to verify data on the destruction of Russian targets and boost battlefield awareness.

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Ukraine gamifies combat, as soldiers start killing for points, rewards

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Ukraine Invasion