Drones instead of soldiers? 73.7% of Ukrainians believe robots can replace humans on the battlefield

Almost three quarters of Ukrainians surveyed believe robots and unmanned systems are capable of fully or largely replacing humans on the battlefield. These are the results of an Active Group poll conducted on 29 August 2026.

The details

Asked "In your view, are robots and unmanned systems capable of replacing humans on the battlefield?", 14.4% answered "yes, completely" and a further 59.3% chose "largely yes". Together that is 73.7%.

The opposite view is held by 22%: 18% chose "largely no" and 4% "not at all". Another 4.3% were undecided. The published shares add up to exactly 100%.

The survey followed a public display of Ukrainian aerial, ground and naval unmanned systems marking Independence Day. The wording of the question was general, however: respondents were not asked to assess separate types of task — reconnaissance, logistics, evacuation or the use of weapons.

Why it matters

The result shows a high level of expectation around the robotisation of war, but it cannot be read as evidence that machines can already replace service personnel in most combat roles.

The word "replace" in the question covers very different functions. So 73.7% is the share of respondents who allow for such a replacement fully or largely — not an objective assessment of whether specific systems are ready to fight autonomously.

Source

Active Group, published on 31 August 2026. Study: "Pulse of the Week: 24–28 August 2026".

The survey was carried out by Active Group using the SunFlower Sociology online panel. Method — self-completed questionnaires by citizens of Ukraine aged 18 and over. Sample — 1,000 questionnaires, representative by age, sex and region of Ukraine. Data collected on 29 August 2026. The stated theoretical margin of error at a confidence level of 0.95 is no more than 3.1%.