“Kill a Russian and wins points”: the controversial new Ukraine Army system for war with Moscow

“The more important and great the objective is from the strategic point of view, the more points the unit receives,” reads a statement from the Brave 1 team, which brings together experts from the government and the army.

“For example, destroying a multiple enemy rocket launch system gives up to 50 points; 40 points are granted for a destroyed tank and 20 by one damaged.”

It could be called the Gamification of war, the use of dynamics, resources and processes that are typical of video games in non -recreational activities or environments.

Each video is carefully analyzed in Kyiv, where points are awarded according to a set of military priorities that are constantly evolving.

“I think, first of all, it is quality data, the mathematics of war and understand how to use limited resources more effectively,” says the architect of the electronic points system, Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine.

But after three long and a half years of total and ruthless war, this system has another vital use.

“It is also a matter of motivation,” says Fedorov. “When we modify the points, we can see how motivation changes.”

The Fedorov office has a huge screen that shows dozens of live broadcasts of Ukrainian drones that fly over the front.

Together, the images offer a vivid vision of the drone war in Ukraine. According to the commanders, flying robots are now responsible for approximately 70% of all deaths and wounds of the Russian side.

Since the first days of Russia's large -scale invasion, social networks have been filled with drone videos, normally accompanied by music heavy metal.

The turret of a tank exploiting in flames. A lonely soldier defending himself from a drone with a rifle or a stick.

They can be creepy images. Each video is a celebration of the death of an adversary. The image becomes blurred when drone explodes.

But beyond a feeling of macabre satisfaction, the first -line units, which are subject to great pressure, now operate knowing that the tests of their exploits can bring them rewards.

The BBC contacted more than a dozen units to know what first -line soldiers think about this program. The answers were varied.

“In general, my colleagues and I see it with optimism,” said Volodymyr, a soldier of the 108th Territorial Defense Brigade, who asked us not to reveal his last name.

At a time when the first -line units are exhausting the equipment, especially attack drones, at a dizzying pace, Volodymyr states that the points program is being useful.

“It is a way to compensate for what we lose … while we inflict losses to the enemy in the most effective way possible.”

The 22nd Mechanized Brigade, which currently fights in the northeast of the country, has been getting used to the new system for about three months.

“Once we understood how it works, it turned out to be a fairly decent system,” said a 22nd soldier who uses the name Jack.

“Our boys are exhausted and nothing motivates them,” Jack said. “But this system helps. Drones are provided through this program and boys get a reward. It is a decent motivation.”

But others are not so convinced.

“The fundamental issue of motivation is not resolved with this,” said a soldier who only wanted to identify with his code name, Snake.

“The points will not prevent people from fleeing the army.”

A soldier who identified himself as Dymytro sent us a long response in which he complained that the units spent too much time playing the points or deliberately attacked Russian vehicles that had already been completely damaged to gain more points.

Dymytro seemed morally doubtful.

“This system is only the result of our twisted mental custom of turning everything into a gain,” he complained, “even our damn death.”

But the points system is typical of the way Ukraine has fought this war: a creative and unconventional approach, designed to make the most of the country's innovative skills and minimize the effect of its numerical disadvantage.

Fedorov states that between 90% and 95% of the combat units are currently participating in the system, which allows a constant flow of useful data.

“We have begun to receive quality information and make decisions based on it,” he says.

“Gathering data, we can propose changes, but the base is always the military strategy.”

In an anonymous office building in Kyiv, we meet some of the analysts whose work is to thoroughly examine the images, verify each bullet impact and grant the points to the responsible unit.

We were asked that we did not reveal the location or use real names.

“We have two categories: impact and destruction,” Volodia explained to us. “Different amounts of points are granted in the different categories.”

Encourage a Russian soldier to surrender is more points than killing him, since a war prisoner can always be used in future prison exchange agreements.

“If you kill a Russian, you get a point,” Volodia explained, “but you capture it, you multiply it by 10”.

The Volodia team analyzes thousands of attacks every day.

“The most difficult thing is artillery,” he said, while showing us a video of a drone sailing with skill between the trees and entering a trench where a weapon is hidden.

“The Russians are very good hiding and digging.”

As Russia's tactics evolve, so does the Ukrainian points system.

As Moscow is using more small units of recognition, on foot or motorcycle, the value of an individual soldier has increased compared to that of one tank or other armored vehicle.

“While before killing an enemy soldier, two points were worth,” reads the declaration of Brave 1, “now is worth six.”

And enemy drones operators are always more valuable than drones themselves.

The rewards system is also being perfected.

Until now, the units could turn their points into cash, what many have used, together with collective financing, to buy additional equipment.

Now, the electronic points system is integrated directly into something called Brave 1 Market, whose designers describe as “the Amazon of War.”

Soldiers can navigate for more than 1,600 products, use their accumulated points, buy items directly to manufacturers and leave reviews, and the Ministry of Defense is responsible for paying the invoice later.

Brave 1 Market is designed to complement the traditional and cumbersome military acquisition system, not to replace it. The hope is that the units have faster access to the items that prefer, from drones to non -manned land components and vehicles (UGV) that can evacuate wounded soldiers of dangerous positions in the front line.

Points to kill. Amazon for war. For some, all this may sound brutal, even cruel.

But this is war and Ukraine is determined to resist. Fighting in the most effective and efficient way possible.

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