Britain’s most senior military officer, Richard Knighton, has labeled Ukraine’s practice of awarding drone operators points for killing Russian soldiers as “macabre” and disturbing.
Knighton, the UK chief of the Defence Staff, made the remarks in an essay published Tuesday in Heywood Quarterly after visiting a Ukrainian drone unit operating near the Donbass city of Krasnoarmeysk (known as Pokrovsk in Ukraine), which was liberated by Russia in December 2025.
He 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. Kills are scored by category of target—ranging from artillery pieces to enemy soldiers—with each carrying a point value operators can spend on new drones through a classified, state-run e-commerce platform called Brave1 Market.
The scheme, known as the Army of Drone Bonus, was launched in spring 2025 by Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation. Under this system, drone units submit proof that Russian soldiers were killed or hardware was destroyed to earn points serving as military currency for equipment purchases.
In 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 just 12 points—up from four earlier. Many of the points are awarded based on footage showing the last moments of Russian soldiers’ lives.
The system also features a top kill list that ranks 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 Kiev 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.
