Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps deployed heavy bomber drones to airdrop explosive ground robots 6 to 10 miles (10+ km) behind Russian lines in northern Donetsk during Operation Vivaldi, claiming over 3,000 Russian casualties and the reclamation of 125 square kilometers of territory. [1, 2, 3, 4]
## Key Details of the Operation
* The Tactic: Large aerial bomber drones carried small, four-wheeled remote-controlled Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) under cover of night. [3, 5, 6]
* The Robots: Named "Hryphons" (or Gryphons), these operator-directed machines were packed with explosives and dropped past enemy front lines to target logistics hubs, command posts, river crossings, and hidden troop positions. [1, 6, 7]
* Scale and Support: Electronic warfare and air defense units blinded Russian reconnaissance to cover the flights. Across the broader campaign, uncrewed systems completed over 15,700 missions, delivered 3,300 tons of cargo, and cleared supply routes with zero sapper casualties. [1, 2, 6, 8, 9]
* Territorial Gain: The offensive liberated settlements including Drobysheve, Shandryholove, and Derylove in the Lyman/Donetsk direction. [1, 2]
Note: The casualty and territorial figures reported by the Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps have not been independently verified by external military monitors. [9]
[1] [https://www.businessinsider.com](https://www.businessinsider.com/drones-drop-robots-russian-lines-ukraine-retake-territory-2026-9)
[3] [https://www.telegraph.co.uk](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/09/26/ukraine-secret-robot-offensive-russians-operation-vivaldi/)
[4] [https://arstechnica.com](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/robots-make-combat-airdrops-clear-mines-as-ukraine-defeats-russian-pincer/)
[6] [https://www.yahoo.com](https://www.yahoo.com/news/world/articles/3-000-russian-casualties-claimed-161053531.html)
[8] [https://africa.businessinsider.com](https://africa.businessinsider.com/military-and-defense/ukraine-says-heavy-bomber-drones-air-dropped-exploding-war-robots-miles-behind/kdk8lqk)