Ukraine’s gamification of killing is ‘macabre’ – UK defense chief

Richard Knighton says Kiev’s points-for-kills bonus scheme targeting Russian soldiers is disturbing

Ukraine’s practice of awarding drone operators points for killing Russian soldiers is “macabre” and disturbing, Britain’s most senior military officer, Richard Knighton, has said.

Knighton, the UK chief of the Defense Staff, made the remarks in an essay for Heywood Quarterly published on Tuesday, after he visited 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.

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“I suspect, like me, many will find this gamification of killing uncomfortable, even macabre,” Knighton wrote, noting 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 marketplace with “the look and feel of any other online store.”

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The scheme, known as the Army of Drone Bonus, was launched in spring 2025 by Mikhail Fedorov, the minister of digital transformation at the time. Under the scheme, drone units submit proof that Russian soldiers were killed or hardware was destroyed. In exchange, they receive points that serve as military currency that can be spent by commanders for equipment on a classified, state-run e-commerce platform called Brave1 Market – which Fedorov called the “Amazon for War.”

In 2025, Fedorov said a light FPV drone would start at two points, and a heavier Vampire model would 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 drone footage showing the last moments of Russian soldiers’ lives.

The system also features a top kill list, although it registers drone units rather than individual drone operators. In January, Fedorov awarded the top performers in a ceremony 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, as cited by Time.

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.