Ukraine holds the world's first all-drone military parade, with no soldiers or tanks
Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day with a Kyiv parade made entirely of unmanned systems: ground robots, naval drones and aircraft, with no marching troops or tanks. Per ABC News and UNITED24 Media.
Ukraine marked its 35th Independence Day on August 24, 2026, with a Kyiv parade made up entirely of unmanned military systems, a first for any country's military parade. Instead of marching troops or tanks, thirty unmanned ground vehicles moved in formation along Khreshchatyk, the capital's main avenue, according to Ukraine's President's Office. A fleet of nine unmanned surface vessels, also called drone boats, traveled the Dnipro River, with some naval drone types carrying air defense missile systems, according to Naval News' analysis of the parade footage. Aerial drones, including reconnaissance, strike and interceptor types, flew overhead. The President's Office said the display featured close to one hundred pieces of unmanned weaponry in total, and that it was the country's first military parade since Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022. Ukraine's ground robots have carried out more than 66,000 missions so far this year, and the country has contracted more than 22,000 additional ground robots for domestic production in 2026, the President's Office said. Ukraine created a dedicated Unmanned Systems Forces branch of its military in 2024, the first country to do so. Sources: ABC News, UNITED24 Media, Naval News.