Russian Soldiers Are Surrendering To Ukrainian Drones. This Has Happened Before.

David Axe, Forbes Staff.

Firing missiles, dropping tiny bombs and spotting targets for artillery, the Ukrainian army’s drones undoubtedly are responsible for hundreds, if not thousands, of Russian casualties as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds into its tenth month.

Ukrainian drones also are capturing live Russians.

In the latest example of a flesh-and-blood soldier surrendering to a plastic-and-metal robot, a Russian soldier apparently somewhere in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region dropped his weapon and raised his hands when a quadcopter-style drone belonging to the Ukrainian army’s 54th Mechanized Brigade appeared overhead.

Hands in the air, the Russian soldier followed the drone toward Ukrainian lines. “Drones are the fiercest enemies of the occupiers,” the Ukrainian defense ministry crowed on social media. “But it turns out, not of all of them. This one took into captivity an occupier that realized that surrender is a chance to survive.”

People surrendering to drones—it’s happened before. Many times, in fact.

The first radio-controlled unmanned aerial vehicles flew way back in 1917. By the 1960s, UAVs were in widespread military use. U.S. Air Force Lightning Bug jet-powered drones flew thousands of long-range reconnaissance missions during the Vietnam War.

Read more here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2022/11/18/russian-soldiers-are-surrendering-to-ukrainian-drones-this-has-happened-before/?sh=3372dd0766e6

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