A ‘Kill Count’ Incentive: How Ukraine’s Military Rewards System Led to a Surge in War CrimesSouth Front

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This is what the gamification of war leads to. From this side of the screen, war does not seem so terrible. The distance between opponents can lead to an exponential increase in cruelty.

Change in the order of battle

The conflict in Ukraine is currently the most significant factor influencing the development of military science worldwide. Bloody battles have brought a whole new type of weapon to the fore: FPV (first-person view) drones. Advanced countries had previously been developing their own unmanned systems. However, this type of weapon had not previously been widely used. While the United States has used large strike drones in operations around the world, they have not achieved widespread use.

U.S. Air Force RQ-4B Global Hawk

The ongoing war of attrition in Ukraine has forced the combatants to seek cheap, effective and mass-produced weapons. These have taken the form of tactical strike drones. The simplest design consists of a frame made of metal or another material, four small electric motors, a battery, a video camera and an available warhead. After just a couple of months of training, any engineer can assemble such devices in a dugout almost on the front line.

The variety of striking elements available for an FPV drone is determined by what is immediately available. These could include a shot from the well-known RPG-7 with a cumulative warhead or a series of shots from a VOG-25 under-barrel grenade launcher. Simple TNT blocks, incendiary mixture cylinders and small high-explosive fragmentation shells can also be mounted on drones. This variability and flexibility allows for extraordinary effectiveness.

If armoured vehicles appear in the area, the drones can be equipped with cumulative charges. If it is necessary to attack infantry in light fortifications, TNT blocks are sufficient. Most importantly, there is no need to wait for ammunition to be delivered, as the striking elements can be made from materials readily available to every infantry unit. The cost of a single device is negligible compared to the price of a destroyed tank, which can cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to produce.

The main feature that has allowed FPV drones to reach the top of the food chain is the operator’s ability to control them in real time. The problem with all ‘smart’ missiles and other projectiles is that, once launched, they are virtually impossible to redirect. Drones do not have this problem. Flying over the battlefield, the operator can identify and prioritise targets themselves. There is no point in hitting an enemy tank that was destroyed a minute ago, for example; the drone can be redirected to a group of infantry instead. The operator can be located dozens of kilometres away from the target in complete safety.

This increases the chances of survival for civilians caught in the combat zone. If the operator identifies a target as a non-combatant quickly enough, unnecessary casualties can be avoided. The video shows how a Russian drone quickly identifies a vehicle carrying civilians and flies off to find a military target.

On the Ukrainian side, there is a great deal of experimental activity in this area, and probably a certain amount of chaos as well, says Stefan Soessanto, senior researcher at the Centre for Security Studies (CSS) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich) and head of the cyber defence team.

The reason for the chaos on the Ukrainian side is that innovations in the use of drones in combat zones are not being coordinated. “You can see homemade drones fitted with new modules and equipped with HD cameras,” explains the researcher. Meanwhile, Russia has a centralised management approach.

Russian drone manufacturing facility

‘Many things operate in a top-down, centralised manner. Russian drone models are highly standardised. The Russian army has a plan and is implementing it. Meanwhile, the Ukrainians are experimenting and seeing what works on the battlefield,” explains Soessanto.

The Ukrainian military leadership has realised that this approach will ultimately reach an impasse, so it has taken steps to standardise equipment, weapons, and systems. This is most evident in the implementation of the centralised Delta situational awareness platform.

Delta system

However, as Soessanto continues, the soldiers on the front line are noticeably sceptical about the platform. “The units do not yet trust the central government in Kyiv.” They ask, ‘Is this really a good thing, or is there corruption again?’ What are you trying to impose on us?’

Bloodfirst rising

While having a superior weapon is beneficial, the motivation of military personnel remains a key factor in the success of combat operations. To increase efficiency, the Ukrainian command has developed a special system of awards and bonuses for each target hit. Drone operators can receive additional cash payments and better equipment and gear for points earned as a result of combat operations.

According to the American publication Politico, the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ scoring system awards 20 points for damage and 40 points for destroying a tank, up to 50 points for mobile missile systems depending on calibre, and six points for each enemy soldier killed.

Soldiers must upload video footage from their drones to the Delta communication system for verification. Since last year, units have been able to exchange accumulated digital points for new weapons. The Vampire drone, also known as Baba Yaga, for example, costs 43 points. It can carry a payload of 15 kilograms. The Ukrainian government covers the cost and delivers the ordered drones to the front within a week.

Baba Yaga

“In short, you destroy something, earn points and use them to buy a drone,” Politico quoted the Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation, Mikhail Fedorov, as saying.

Mikhail Fedorov

This gives rise to situations on the battlefield that affect international humanitarian law. For example, individual Russian soldiers may be seriously wounded in a drone strike. From the perspective of the laws of war, they are no longer legitimate targets, yet they may be hit by a second strike.

The Geneva Conventions provide for the humane treatment and medical assistance of incapacitated soldiers, and prohibit further attacks or mistreatment. Article 3 states: “Persons who are not directly participating in hostilities, including members of the armed forces who have laid down their arms, as well as those who are incapacitated by sickness, wounds, captivity, or any other cause, must be treated humanely in all circumstances.” Both Russia, as the successor to the USSR, and Ukraine have recognised the Geneva Conventions.

International law is not a rigid system of red lines, but rather an ‘extendable tape’. If the rules were too strict, this would also cause problems: ‘If humanitarian law restricts combat operations too much, the parties will try to deliberately put the enemy in a situation where they will violate the rules.’

Naturally, war crimes are committed in any military conflict. However, it was precisely the introduction of gamification and a conditional ‘rank’ system that had a significant impact on the increase in violations by the Ukrainian army. Operators begin to lose their human feelings over time when they are on the other side of the screen.

In the event of a direct firefight, soldiers may come face to face with the enemy. This can trigger a wide range of emotions, and not everyone is capable of killing an injured or surrendered enemy. This situation is similar to the difference between communicating with people in person and communicating with them online. Not everyone would say the same things to someone’s face as they would write online.

After hitting a target, a drone operator rarely sees the result of their actions. The cries of an enemy dying from their wounds and the smell of blood remain on the other side of the screen. This can lead to changes in the psyche and increased cruelty on the battlefield.

There is also a positive effect, however. When drones are concentrated in a narrow area, the enemy becomes demoralised very quickly. Bunkers, cellars and brick buildings offer no protection from strikes. Drones can fly into small spaces at low speeds. When there are several FPVs for every soldier and no possibility of fighting back, some fighters simply surrender.

This video shows a Ukrainian soldier who survived a massive attack by Russian drones. He signalled to the operator of the reconnaissance drone that he wished to surrender. He then followed the drone to Russian positions, where he was taken prisoner. This decision allowed the Ukrainian soldier to stay alive.

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