--- title: "Ukraine’s robots claw back land as Russia turns up the heat on NATO" description: "A robot-assisted counter-offensive has erased Russian gains; Copenhagen sees no breakthrough coming, only a darker hybrid war" author: "Albion Grey" published: 2026-09-24T18:39:47Z modified: 2026-09-26T17:30:42Z url: https://rews.cc/a/ukraine-s-robots-claw-back-land-as-russia-turns-up-the-heat--755004 language: en tags: ["ukraine", "russia", "war", "drones", "nato", "europe", "world"] publisher: "Rews (https://rews.cc)" --- # Ukraine’s robots claw back land as Russia turns up the heat on NATO *A robot-assisted counter-offensive has erased Russian gains; Copenhagen sees no breakthrough coming, only a darker hybrid war* By Albion Grey · September 24, 2026 · https://rews.cc/a/ukraine-s-robots-claw-back-land-as-russia-turns-up-the-heat--755004 ## In brief - Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi has reclaimed up to 96 square miles since May 2026, aided by combat robots, the Institute for the Study of War says - Ukrainian electronic warfare reportedly neutralised about 20,000 Russian drones, giving Kyiv “tactical drone overmatch” near Lyman - Denmark’s Defence Intelligence Service sees no major Russian breakthrough in Ukraine within six months, but no compromise either - Copenhagen warns of intensified hybrid attacks and a “low but growing risk” of a limited Russian military strike on NATO neighbours - Russia’s embassy in Copenhagen denied involvement in security incidents and blamed the West for degrading European security Battles are rarely won by a single machine, but Ukraine’s latest counter-offensive has come as close as any to proving the point. Robots have reportedly carried out combat airdrops and cleared mines in support of Operation Vivaldi, a push by Ukraine’s Third Army Corps that, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a think-tank in Washington, has reclaimed up to 96 square miles of territory since launching in May 2026. The operation has also undone the northern arm of a Russian pincer that was meant to encircle Ukraine’s “Fortress Belt” cities in the east, the ISW says. Part of Vivaldi’s advantage has been secrecy. The Third Army Corps has kept its advances quiet for long stretches through strict operational security, which, the ISW argues, helped mislead Russian commanders already poorly served by what it calls a “pervasive culture of lying within the Russian military” whenever the battlefield news is bad. Lieutenant-generals who cannot trust their own maps make clumsy enemies. Technology did the rest. Ukraine’s intermediate-range drone campaign against Russian fuel supplies has left Russian generators short of diesel, degrading the electronic-warfare systems that might otherwise have jammed Ukrainian drones. Ukrainian electronic warfare, in turn, reportedly neutralised some 20,000 Russian drones. The result, in the ISW’s assessment, is “tactical drone overmatch” backing Ukrainian mechanised advances towards Lyman in the Donetsk region. According to The Kyiv Independent, the Third Army Corps inflicted enough losses on the pilots and resources of Rubicon, an elite Russian drone unit, to force its withdrawal from the area. None of this means the Russians are beaten. Moscow is directing armoured vehicles and drone units, Rubicon included, towards Dobropillya in Donetsk in preparation for fresh mechanised assaults this autumn. Over the summer Russia tested a new anti-drone protection system for its most modern tanks; it enjoyed limited success, and Ukrainian drones still overwhelmed the tanks’ defences. Russia has adopted many of Ukraine’s drone-warfare innovations and devised some of its own, even as it keeps pounding Ukrainian cities with missiles and drones. ## The view from Copenhagen Step back from the front line and the picture is less encouraging for the Kremlin but more alarming for everyone else. The Danish Defence Intelligence Service, in a report published this week, sees “no prospect of Russia achieving any major breakthroughs in the war against Ukraine over the next six months”—though it also judges it “highly unlikely” that Moscow will compromise on its objectives. Russia is under more pressure than at any point in its full-scale invasion, the Danes say, ground down by heavy losses for little territorial gain, sanctions, steep military spending and Ukrainian strikes on energy facilities. “Western economic and military support to Ukraine is vital to the country’s capability to hold back Russian forces and to raise the cost to Russia of sustaining the war,” the report concludes. Frustrated on the battlefield, Russia is busier off it. Europe has seen a sharp uptick in drone incursions, sabotage and other malign activity in recent weeks, which Western officials blame on Moscow; the Kremlin repeatedly denies involvement. NATO fighter jets scramble routinely when drones stray into allied airspace. Germany blamed Russia for a foiled drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport over the summer—one that, as Ars Technica reports, targeted parked Ukrainian cargo aircraft—and an explosive drone boat has turned up near a vital offshore gas site. The aim, Western officials say, is to weaken European support for Ukraine and to test NATO’s resolve and its response times. Denmark expects worse. It “assesses that Russia will intensify its hybrid war by carrying out more frequent attacks against the West and NATO, with greater consequences for the targeted countries than in the past,” and warns of a high risk of casualties. More sobering still is its judgment of a “low but growing risk that Russia will launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries” bordering it, even while mired in Ukraine and unable to fight a regional war. Such a strike could come within months, designed to splinter the alliance and divert resources from Kyiv—perhaps long-range attacks on infrastructure supporting Ukraine. Deploying a small number of troops onto NATO soil is another option, though it would require a large, hard-to-hide build-up along the border. An all-out invasion is a different matter. The Danes see no indication that Russia will attempt one: it would need months of preparation, and while an outright assault on NATO territory is “highly unlikely, it cannot be ruled out”. Predictably, Russia’s embassy in Copenhagen rejected it all, denying responsibility for incidents such as the one at Leipzig airport and blaming the West for what it called “the degradation of the European security situation”. That leaves Europe in a strange position: winning on Ukraine’s terms while losing sleep on its own. Mark Rutte, NATO’s secretary-general, chose understatement this week. “What I’m telling my European colleagues, particularly, is stay calm, carry on, and keep supporting Ukraine,” he said. Sound advice, provided the alliance’s air-defence crews and intelligence services are as calm—and as well supplied—as their political masters. ## Sources - [Ukraine's robots make combat airdrops and clear mines to defeat Russian pincer](https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2026/09/robots-make-combat-airdrops-clear-mines-as-ukraine-defeats-russian-pincer/) — Ars Technica - [Western intel: Russia unlikely to break through in Ukraine, but NATO risks grow](https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-unlikely-break-through-ukraine-rising-risks-to-nato-intelligence-2026-9) — Business Insider